
Class __-El^3 



COFYRIOIIT DEPOSIT. 



[ISTORICALi 
If SOUVENIR «»i&«f 



op 



PHCENIX.N.Y. 



AND VICINITY 




LISKARV otCONGHtS, 
Two Cooies Receivea 

APR 12 1904 

Copyright Entry 

CLASS «- XXe. No. 

if"0 ' J' PC 
COPY B 



HiSTORiCAb Souvenir Series ]^o. 14 



PHOEHIX, N-V-flND VICINITY 



Hcili<lny Numlifi-, lilll:;. 

[ri>)i,vi-ijrlited.] 

"Grip", lOH (timing Avi-., Syrac-iisf, N. V. 



PH(EN1X, Oswego County, one of the prin- 
cipal uiiinufacturing villages in Northern 
New York, and next to the chief one in 
the county, is situated on the Oswego river and 
canal and on the most direct line of the New York 
Central railroad from Syracuse to Oswego — only 
sixteen miles from each. Its proximity to Lake 
Ontario (at Oswego), affords an advantage which 
most manufacturing towns do not possess. By 
means of the Oswego canal whii^h passes through 
Phcenix mauiifactured products are easily and 
cheaply carried to the lake for trans-shijiment l)y 
barge or schooner, it heing but a few hour.s' 
journey with the slowest canal locomotion. Then, 
too, it is within a few minutes' ride of the main 
line of the Central where direct connections with 
all the fast trains on this great east and west iron 
road are made by those coming from Phoenix. 
Twelve in number daily jjass through this village. 

The Prospects for Phoenix to grow, both in 
population and commercial imjiortance, were 
never better. This fact has been recognized by 
the men who are to build the trolly line between 
this place and the cities to the north and south, 
since they selected Phoenix as the best of the 
routes that are offered between Syracuse and the 
lake. Acro.s.s the river, virtually in Phneuix, is to 
be a second trolley line, a comijetitor of the first, 
and both lines are to carry freight and express, 
giving to Phoenix competition in rates by rail as 
■well as by water. 

The Local Field ot Trade includes several 
small but thriving hamlets within a few minutes' 
drive, Ijoth in Oswego and Onondaga counties, 
those on the west side of the river being in the 
latter county. Roads cutting the adjacent rural 
districts radiate from Phoenix like spokes to a 
wheel and bring thousands of dollars to the cof- 
fers of her merchants every year. 

All kinds of produce are raised by the farmers 
who do their trading at Phoenix, but the chief 
productions are potatoes, vesil and tobacco; hay, 
butter, cheese and milk. Hambletonian horses 
of the purest breed are raised here where the Van - 
derbOts have secured one of their best teams. 
Many of the farmers are the descendants of early 
settlers whose farms are free of incumberances 
and who, with the pride that the "old place" in- 
spires in most men's bosoms, have imi^roved and 
recouped their places so that the section tributary 
to this village is a veritable garden spot, dotted 



[IU,UUSTRA-reD.] 

with farms kept xip in the best order and as pro- 
lific as the best of tilled land. 

The Boating Facilities on the canal give 
Phoenix a daily packet to Syracuse and tri-weekly 
express between Oswego and Utica. The 1,000- 
ton barge canal that is practically assured to this 
state will benefit Phoenix considerably, since the 
main channel has been surveyed within two miles 
ot the village, along the Oneida and Seneca rivers, 
to say nothing of the branch -a du-ect cut of 24 
miles to Lake Ontari(j— which is to follow the 
Oswego river passing through Phoenix. 

This village has the u.sual telephone, local and 
long distance, that is common to every advanced 
community. 

The D. L. & W. railroad jjasses within three 
miles of Phoenix and the N. Y., O. & W. raUroad 
about the same distance. Shippers who employ 
teams can secure competitive rates by hauling 
their jirodiicts to Lamsons on the first named 
road or to Pennelhaile on the other. 

The Manufacturing^ Interests are peculiarly 
favored with unlimited water power and an abun- 
dance of natural gas. The Oswego river, which 
falls at this point over a half mile of rifts, affords 
a head of about eight feet. Behind it are thirty- 
seven lakes — that immense chain which stretches 
across Central New York and which pours all of 
its waters through the Oswego river into Lake 
Ontario. So it is plain that the force which 
moves the wheels of industry in this village will 
never give out. 

The Water Power, abundant and capable of 
turning several more wheels, has already been 
improved to the highest standard. A quarter of a 
mile of river front and mill races on each side of 
the river offers plenty of room as well as water. 
Money has been liberally invested in building 
artiticiid channels that divert the flood of the 
river and harness the wheels. On the east side, 
in the village proper, several large, modern stnic- 
tures capable of accommodating manufactiu'ers 
considerably more extensively than many good 
sized cities can offer, some of them already partly 
occupied, have conveniences ready for tenants 
equal to the very best. Not many years ago the 
land upon which they stand came into the jjos- 
session of a gentleman of means whose ideas of 
what were needed pi'ompted him to erect large, 
commodious brick structures with all modern 
improvements. Being somewhat in advance of the 



'Caur'S" lilSTOKlCAL SOLVKNllt OF I'lKKMX. 



immediate needs of the towu be Imilded more ex- 
t<'nsively tliau wiis necessarv, with the result that 
there is now at hand r<>ad_v for oeeii]>aiiy tliree l)it; 
factory buildings which can be obtained by any 
firm that can give assurances of a permanent and 
profitable industry, under the most advantaffeous 
terms. 

Some idea of the facilities oll'ered is obtained 
from the following' deseription: Four substuntial 
buildings, three of them three stories and the 
other twt) stories, occupy splendid sites on the 
banks of the canal and river. The power house 
where the electric light and water <'Oin])anies are 
located, is (iOxSO feet and is connected with three 
water wheels. The sub-structure is all stone,steel 
and Indiana oak. It is three stories and has as 



oflices — )irivate and |>ublic, jiower elevators, auto- 
matic sprinklers and an unusually grand .sy.stem 
of tire-proof vaulls, five in numlier — a vault for 
the ollices, another for finished stock, one for fine 
tools, etc., altogether five separate vaults. 

All of these buildings rest on solid rock capable 
of sustaining the tallest sky-scra])er. They are all 
heated by steam and (i|ui]ipcd for electric light 
and natural ga.s. 

The Daro. crossing the river at a slight angle 
from a straight course, is 800 feet long from shore 
to sliore, with a spillway of 440 feet and including 
200 feet of bulkheads. Two races, one 40 and the 
other 20 feet wide, connect with a forebay having 
an o])ening of 100 feet in one end and 50 feet in 
the other. The retaining wall, built on bed rock, 




VILI,.\GK 1!().\ 

\V. II. Wmiii.t. S. .1. M( 

.Iciliii Winjj'. I>. M. Ucil 

rtnely'liuished olhces as the best city buildings, 
done ofl in natui-al wood, with tile floors and fire- 
l)laces, bronze gridiron and ])late glass partitions, 
and large vaults and cabinets. 

The largest of the buildings, three stories high, 
has 180 windows and is 40x120 feet. It is finished 
ofiTinthe interior with more elegance than that 
ah-eady mentioned. It has power elevators, a\ito- 
matic sprinklers, offices, vaults, etc. The thii'd 
of the three-story buildings is i>artly occui>ied but 
it has conveniences for .several light manufactur- 
ing i)lants. r It was built for a knife factory 
capable of turning out 100 dozen per day and em- 
ploying 150 hands. Another large building has 
two stories and is 30x90 with a detached foundry, 
30x50, connected by jmssage ways. This is also 
fitted up in a grand style, including elegant 



liD OF TRUSTEES. 
ivir. Clerk. .1 

i.v 



>liii I ritrii'M. 



I'nsiilcnt. I'.. .\. Tallin-. 

IS 400 feet long and 14 feet high, the base being .5 
feet thick and the top 3 feet. It is seldom that 
any water power has such natural and created 
advantages as this one. What is better still, the 
jji-esent factories use the water wheels the year 
round, the su])]>ly never l)i>coming too low to run 
the machinery under full headway. 

'i'he power we have described does not include 
that across the river from Phoenix, where, although 
the imi)r()vements are not so great thei'e is offered 
an abundance of river front and the same generous 
supply of water. 

The Manufactured Products of Phoenix are 
chiefly tissue papers and toilet rolls. Here ore 
turned out every day in the year except Sunday — 
or rather every twenty-four hour.«, for the mills 
run day and night — 2,000 reams (480 sheets to 



'GRIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PHCENIX. 



3 



the ream); and there 18 about $220,000 invested 
in these mills. Most of the work is done by 
machinery and tlie number of hands emplo_>ed is 
not so large for the size of the jilants, as in many 
other lines of manufacturing. Probably there are 
about 150 men laboring day and night from 12 
o'clock Sunday night to 12 o'clock Saturday 
night. The jiajier is turned nut also in large 



River Paper Co. , the Phoenix Tissue Paper Co., 
the Phfenix Toilet and Paper Co., and Sweet 
Bros. Paper Manufacturing C!o. Other manufac- 
turing companies and firms in Phrenix now en- 
gaged in shijiping their products all over the 
country, besides the above mentioned, ai'e: Duffy 
Bros. & Nellis, sOk; Pierce & Pendergast, millers; 
the Desk au<l Knife Co. ; the Phoenix Hot Water 




Mrs. S. .T. Moyer, PboTO. 



GKOfP OF STREETS IX PHdiNIX. 



Chestnut East fi-oin Clici-i-y. 
Ciinal South from Hriilg-e. ' 
Lock West from Jflfersou. 

sheets 40x60 inches, by one of the mills. Anotler 
makes the colored tissues and cuts the paper into 
toUet rolls and packages. There are four paper 
mills supplying every portion of the world with 
tissue and toilet papers. They are the Oswego 



Main South from Lock. 
Canal Nt)rth froniL ock. 
Church. U)okin.ur West. 

Heater Co.; Otts Bros, 'ouudry: Plueuix Yea.st 
and Spirits Co.; M. C. Ryan, berry crate fasteners 
and hinges; the Sinclau- Chah- Co.; E. B. Baker, 
machinery; P.W. Alvord, harness; J. H. Loomis & 
Son, interior wood work; Phienix Sliding BliudCo. 



"GRIP'S" HTST()1U('.\L SOUVENIR OF PHfENIX. 



The Natural Gas Supply is iiiilimitf(l,lieinK 
iisi'd not only for lii'iiting, cooking and lif^litinp, 
Imt for l)otb motive power and for welding, forg- 
ing imd brazing. One well alone suii))li»'s a 
million feet eveiy twenty-feur hours. Every year 
uew wells are o|)ened and invariably they yield 
abundantly. 

The Business Men's Association, ineorpo- 
rat«>d, is earnest and ])rogressive in its efforts to 
pi'omote the interests of the village and stands 
ready at all times to give material aid to any in- 
dustry whieh ha.s a legitimate, permanent motive 
in view. 

Phoenix has a wide reputation for its homes, 
churches and school. The streets are well shaded, 
liroad, dean and those most largely used are 
maeadanii/ed. The village is lighted by arc 
lights well distributed thi-ough file streets. 

The Lighting Plant is wired for 1,500 iueau- 
d<'sc('nt and thirty arc lights and has a capacity 
for mure than double that iiunibcr of both lights. 




liorrnwi'ci l'llnt( 



Till; (ll.l> l!l\ 1:H HlillKJK 



Its power is obtained from three water wheels and 
a fourth eau be jmt in at any time it is needed. 

The Water Supply is the Oswego river, the 
intakes being above the village where the water is 
free of all contamination. Th<' jinmping station 
is capable of su])plying two and a half million gal- 
lons every twenty-four hours. Since the plant was 
institut*'d in 1887, no tire has ever got out of the 
building in which it stai-ted, and there has seldom, 
if ever, been a total loss. 

History o£ Phoenix -The village, situated 
three miles below Three Biver Point at the foot 
of the rifts in the Oswego river known as Three 
Kiver rifts, was laid out in village plots in 1836, 
having in 1828 received its name from Alexander 
Phoenix who i)iiroha8e(l what is known as the 
Pluenix patent from (ieorge W. Scriba, the ori- 
ginal projirietor of the land. The village was 
incorporate<l in 1848. The first settler was Abram 
Piuldock who built a log cabin in 1801 and was 
the first white man to make a home in the town of 



Schrcepjiel. For years he followed trapping and 
hunting, getting his living solely through hi.s skill 
with his traps and his gun until his death, w hich 
occurred in 1821. He bore the .sobri(|Uet of 
"Htar Hunter Paddock" because he s auglitered 
larg<' numbers of bears which were numerous 
hereabouts at that time. Buried in what was 
thin an unbroken wilderness, he was for six years 
the only white inliabitant of the territory now 
comprising the town. The Oneida and Onondaga 
Indians then came down the river over two trails 
leading to Three Kiver Point in search of game 
and tisli. Paddock, making freijuent trips to 
Oswego, then an outiiost for traders, with his 
trophies of the chase, exchanged jielts for rum 
which he tiaili-d with the Indians for the fruits of 
their liuuls. Being slirewd at bargaining he was 
able to ai'ijuire large qiiintities of fur in that way 
and realize large jirotits from thi'ir side at the fort. 
In 1822 Simeon S. Chapin secured the log' 
hou.se of Paddock and opened the tavern, three 
vears later erecting a frame addition, the first in 
the village. In 1827 Walter Peck erected a saw- 
mill and a year after he 
o]iened a store in a build- 
ing near the river bridge. 
In 1828 8eth W. Burke 
opened a blacksmith 
shop, where for a few 
years he made idl of the 
tools that were used in 
the little settlement. The 
ne.\t year he erected the 
grist mill for .Vlexander 
Pluenix. 

t'harles S. Sweet, who 
was a clerk for Waiter 
Peck was in l)usiness 
with his father in a store 
near the lock. In 18:i8 he 
erected auottier store, 
.Toshua M. Rice at that 
time also being engaged 
in trade. 
Hezekiah Barnes, who bought all of the pro- 
perty belonging to Alexander Phoenix niTived in 
183.") and built the mill race, engaging very largely 
in clearing adjacent lands and carrying on the 
manufacture of barrel staves, also in conducting 
a .store. 

Marshall and Willmr Hale also hatl a store on 
the banks of the canal at the foot of Lock street 
where they engaged in boat building. E. G. 
Hutchinson was another early merchant in the 
village who alsoengaged in milling. E. F. (iould 
hail a heading plant where he made barrel heads. 
Hart & Bentley for .several years, up to the time 
they were burned out, in ]8.'>0, carried on tanning. 
In the early days of the canal Phoenix wius an 
iniliortant boat building place, the canal being 
lined with boat yards. In 1872 tliere were five, 
owned by Harwick iV- Breed, Joseph (iilbert, 
Merry i- I5reed, E. .T. Vickery and Belts it I'ierce. 
Among the merchants at that time were (iouver- 
neur M. Sweet, John ('. Hutchinson, Kaliih O. 
Barnes, Dis. Davis, Conger and ('. O. Lee who 
opened the first drug store in the village, and Sethi 
W. Alvord, harness maker. 



"GEIP'S" HISTOBICAL SOUVENIE OF PHCENIX. 



The sesond grist mill in the village was erected 
in 1858 bv Pliny F. Conger who soon after took 
in as ])artuer Edmund Merry. G. G. Breed after- 
Wiird^ be3ame jJirt owner and in ISlJfi it was pur- 
chased by H. Wetherby & Co. who were running 
it the following year when it was burned. They 
erected a new structure and continued the busi- 
ness until 18713. The property was then leased by 
Amasa P. Hart & Co. who were succeeded by 
Payne Bigelow. 

The Oswego Eiver cheese factory was l)uilt in 
1863 by Ira Gould. In 1868 A. W. Sweet estab- 
lished the Phoenix Coffin and Casket works which 
in 1891 was converted into a paper mUl l)y Frank 
Dilts of Fulton. Tlie Phoenix Knife Co. was ori- 
ginally organized, in 1880, as the Central City 
Knife Co., and iiually took the former name in 
1892. The Phoenix Hardware Manufacturing Co. 
was moved here from Syracuse in 1888. In 1892 
the fVjundiy of .John O'Brien and the Table works 
of L. S. Wilson were started. Then, in 1894, 
came the Syraou.se Storage Battery Co., followed 
liv the Phoenix Hot Water Heater Co. 



John P. Kiee; Dyer, William and Samuel Pntuam, 
M. 8. Cushman, E.G. Fitzgerald, Calvin B.Merwin, 
Stephen B. Johnson, William Gilbert, E. D. Har- 
ington, J. F. Simons, Ad. and Amasa P. Hart; 
James H. Loomis, Charles Sherman, Simeon S. 
and Stebbin Ch.xpin; George P. Withers, Estes 
Rector; Is3.ie and John Wing; A. B. (ietty, Dr. 
Charles M. Lee, Lewis Eowe, Samuel Foote, W. 

B. Hatch; William and George Leslie; Drs. Ran- 
dall, Williams and Rice; G. H. Northrup, Elman- 
son Chesebro, Samuel Foote; Erastus, John and 
Willard Gould ; Francis David; E. G. and John 

C. Hutchinson; George Wright, John C. Fuller, 
Andrew Baird, H. W. Weeden; Sylvester and 
Benjamin F. Jones; A. Speninberg; John I., 
Rufus and Augustus Diefendorf ; N. C. and Seth 
W. Alvord; Ira Betts, John Wing; Pliilo, John 
and Hiram Carpenter; WUber and Marshall Hale; 

Charles W. Avery, Dr. A. P. Hammill. Vick- 

ery. Dr. Gerritt Smith. Charles W, Candee, 
Ashley P. Northrup, W. B. Howard, Ephraim 
Maxlield, Stephen C!ath:irt; Joscjih and Richard 
Fraliok; Josiah, .Tnhn and Hiram Fox; John and 




.1. .M..\( 1. I'llnt. 



I 111-: .m:\v iii\i;ii iiui iici;. 



Earliest Settlers of Phoenix. The follow- 
ing are among those who lived in Pluenix in 18'3.j: 
Walter Peck, Hezel^iah Barnes, Xathan Huntley. 
Hugh Huntley, Dr. Brown; Curtis and Richard 
Munger; Seth W. and Frank Burke; James Barnes, 
Ed. Noyes, David Capron, Samuel Allen, Ralph 
O. Barnes; .\din, Henry, Oliver, Charles and 
George (i. Breed; Alva and Jonathan Wood; 
Widow Mdes. Elijah Rice; Gen. and Samuel 
Richardson; Frances (t. Barnes; John and Frances 
Porter; John Barnes and Oiaiige Cha]i]iel;CiiarIes 
N., Charks S., .\ddisnn and (iouvernenr M. 
Sweet. 

The following are among the earliest comers 
after the year 18 i5; many of them settled in 
Phienix before the year 1810, and the others, or 
most of them, bt-fore the year 18)1): — William 
Wart, Jerry Waggoner, (xeorge Cal)el; Sa iiuel 
and Edmund Merry ; Edward Baxter; .Tob, William 
TJzzicli, I'avis, Pliny and Enoch Conger; .\ntliciuy 
and Peter Lapoint; Joseph and Dudley Fish; 
Timolliv Olm.slead, Joseph Hanchett ; .Tosei)li and 
Calvin .\ (iilbert; Thomas R. I)\itcher; Dudley 
and Janes I5reed; Kinnev; J. M. and Geiu'ge 
Williams; (Uiaimcy B. Wall, Ho.sea B. Ru-s, 
Elder (iifford. Harvev Hollister; .Toshua M. and 



William Payne; Di'. Sauniel Avery. Samuel Flynn; 
Timothy, Jeduthen and Henry T. Sweet; Thomas 
Briggs and George Baxter. 

The Path of the Jesuits. — In the 17th cen- 
tury the Jesuits three times encamped on the 
])re.seut site of the vil age of Phcenix. Long before 
the English ( ver came here the French made fre- 
quent journeys from Montreal and Quebec to the 
territo y of the Onondagas with whom they treated 
as the diplom.itio representatives of the Iroqtiois. 
The Jesuit priests being desu'ous of e tablishing 
their n:issions am(rag that warlike race, came uj) 
the St. Lawrence river into Lake Ontario, then 
crossed to the entrance of Oswego river following 
that stream and Seneca river to the lake of Onon- 
diiga from wheiice they were gui<led to the capital 
of that nation ti'v# mUes south. This was the 
only cour.se fol'owed to reach the Indian country 
during the seventeenth century. .\mong the 
Jesuit fathers whose feet have trod this unbeaten 
forest ])ath \\ere Francis .Toseph le .Mercier, J. 
Chiude Dablon, Father Cholonec, Father Le 
^loyn ', Jean (^uien, Paul Le Jeune, Paul Rague- 
nean, .lerome Tjallemant and Isaac logues. 



6 



•GlilP'S' IlISTOlUaVL SOUVENUt OF PHCEXIX. 



Tlip latter civine through as early as 1(U'2 and 
returned in May, l()4(i, as an envoy from the 
French. In Ki"):! Father Le Moyiie with one 
companion, guided by several Indians, followed 
the east shore of the Oswego river on foot. He 
has left an account of that voyage in which he 
says that tliey set out on their return from the 
Onondagas on the 15tli of .\ugnst. The next day 
he arrived -'at the entrance of a small lake" (On- 
ondaga) where he tasted of a fountain "which the 
Indians were afraid to drink," saying it is iuhah- 
ted by a demon who renders it foul. He found 
it to be salt water from which he made a little salt, 
part of which he carried to (Jiiebcc. C!oiitinuiug 
his journal, he writes ol' pussiuf; the river of "the 
Senecas" and further lieyoiid, that of "the Onei- 
das." Three miles below, he reached some rapids 
which he says "gave the name Three River llifts 
to a village of tishermen." Here he encamped for 
two nights and a day, resuming his journey down 
the Oswego river on the 19th. This was where 
the village of Plueiiix now stands. On the 18th 
of August, l(i.')8, this renowned French Jesuit 
spent the day in devotions on the bank of the 
river where now the in<lustrial life of a bnsv vil- 



who had l)een a captive among the Onondagas and 
who was returning alone to the country of her 
])enple. "I had," said she, "two children in my 
captivity ; but alas, they have been nijvssacred by 
their captors, and I have every day to dread a 
similar fate. Death stsmds before me contin- 
ually. We had to con.sole her," relates the 
chnmicler, "and afterwards confess to her, then 
leave her quickly, to follow our guides, who took 
us this day to Tethiroguen (Oneida river)." Ho 
the Jesuits hud even confessed their Indian con- 
verts in the seventeenth century on the site of 
modern Ph<enix. 

The next time that we have knowledge of any 
considerable exju^dition of the Jesuits on this 
track in the woods is when the large com])any of 
Fathers and their attendants .set out to establish 
their missi(ms on the .shore of Lake Genentha 
lOnondagai. .\fter years of unremitting eti'ort 
they had got permission from the Onondagas to 
estalilish a French colony at Onondaga lake. 
Fathers Claude Dablon, IjC Mercier, Rene Mes- 
nard, Jaques Fremen ami lirothers .\mbrose 
Broar and Rourzier left (,)uebec, May 17, 175(J, 
accompanied by n party of Frenchmen, under the 




Mrs. S. .1. M(i 



■nil-: iiivi:it. oi'i'D.siTE p(I(i;.ni.\. 



lage has taken the place of the dark recesses of 
that unexplored forest in which he read his brev- 
iary while his canoemen were engaged in rei)airing 
the canoes. 

Fathers ,Tose])h Chaumont and Claude Dablon 
journeying to the Onondagas in l(i55, also made 
their encampment on the site of the vUlage of 
Phoenix, or rather a few rods down the river. On 
the 8()th of October they left Lake Ontario to "go 
by liuid to Onondaga." The same <hiy they met 
several Oneida warriors led by .\tondutochan 
(Pierced Nose) who wei'e going to make war 
against till' Xez Perces. On the evening of Nov. 
2, they arrived at "a favorable camping si)ot"and 
pitched their camp "at the same .sign, under the 
same auspice, whicli had always shown ui)on o>ir 
journey, the evening .star." Here, where the 
shore is now (vivereil with factories, they laid 
them.sclves to rest under the clear cold sUy of 
Noveml>er, in the mid.st of a wililerness solituile. 
The devout missionaries, who thought only of 
sprcii.ding their faith and |)reparing the pagans for 
death by liaptism, rejoiced over one incident 
whicli oci'urre<l on thi> morning they lelt their en- 
ciinil)ment. There appeared among them like an 
apparition out of the ilark forest a Huron woman 



command of Sienr Dupuys, and several tribes of 
Indians. They carried a white flag with the word 
"Jesus" iiainted on it in large letters. This com- 
]iany which occupied four months in reaching the 
Oswego river nearly i)erished from hunger. They 
.sought re.st and succor at the mouth of the Salmon 
river, where they were so di'iven to want of food 
that they lived on berries. Glad enough to take 
their chances on the waves of the lake, they tinally 
got away, leaving a reminder of their hardships 
by giving to that river thi> name of La Famine, 
(in July Sth th y attempted the ascent of the Os- 
wego river in their canoes. So disheartene<l in 
spirit and reduced in strength were tliey, that they 
actually could not make head against the current 
of the river and were absolutely coiKiuor. d when 
they trii'd to g<'t \i]> the rapids. \Vrit»'s their 
chronii'ler: "The next day we found currents of 
water so rapid that it reipiircd all of our force to 
surmount them. I confess that the faces of most 
of us were haggard and worn, and we tVlt down- 
cast and discouraged. ]5efnre lying down in the 
evening, we had (Uily a droj) of brandy to distrib- 
ute among all of our com])any * • • In fact, 
we only made one league this day, part of our 
people fidling sick and tlu' rest losing their c(air- 



"GEIP'S" HISTOEICAL SOUVENIR OF PHCENIX. 



age with their strength." Fiually, they saw a 
canoe in the distance ladeneil with provisions 
which "seemed to fly towards us rather than be 
rowed," and which had lieeu sent by Father 
C.haumonont, who, the previous year, had re- 
mained behind with the Onondagas and uj)on 
learning of the approach of his colleagues had 
taken the first opportunity to succor them. And 
this event, coming down to us through the cen- 
turies, occurred only a few miles down the river 
from Phoeni.x. One nuin of this party that same 
night took from the stream twenty salmon, and 
the next daj-, so plentifully does it pour when 
after a drouth there's rain, that thirty-four large 
salmon were captiu'ed by spearing them with 
swords or wei'e killed from blows with the oars. 



treachery, gave assurances of welcome to their 
visitors. 

Three River rifts is but a short journey from the 
Onondaga lake, which this party reached the fol- 
lowing day, with the sun at the meridian. There 
the whole Onondaga nation, "a great multitude 
of people, " were assembled to receive them, for it 
was on the north shore of that body of water that 
a place had been selected to establish their mis- 
sion. Three wonderful things attracted their at- 
tention on this lake, the salt springs "with salt 
ready made deposited upon the ground," "great 
masses of pigeons that gathered about these 
springs" and the appearance of strange serpents, 
"unseen elsewhere," which "we call serjjent a 
sonnettes (rattlesnake) because in creeping they 




Mrs. S. J. Moyer, Photo. 

Main striTt South f i-oiu Mwhanic. 
Canal North (rum Mn'hiinic. 

This happened while "jiassing through a sault," 
probably in the wide waters beNp,- Fultcm. 

That evening the third encampment of Jesuits 
from France to be pitched on the jjresent site of 
Phoenix, capped the delights of the day by giving 
the holy fathers a period of rest and devotion. 
What gives greater importance to this event and 
adds interest to the history of this locality, is tliat 
when they drew their canoes from the water they 
were met by the leading chiefs of the Onondagas, 
who had come to receive them in the sylvan 
shailes of the Oswego, who were followed by a 
large retinue of braves. Then ensued "a i)ig 
talk" in wliich the chiefs, the lietter to hiile their 



I'KKTTY VILLAGE STREETS. 



Mechanic West from .Jefferson. 
Davis lookinjT West. 



make a noise like a locust or grasshoi)i)er. " The 
next month the .Jesuits l)uilt a chapel. The mis- 
sion they called St. Mary's of Lake Genentaha. 
This mission continued less than two years. The 
contemplated treachery of the Onondagas becom- 
ing known to Dnpuys, the military commandant, 
he caused secretly a number of canoes to be made 
in the garret of the mission house and on the 
uiglit of the 19th of March, l(i5.S, while the Onon- 
dagas were engaged in feasting, the entire colony 
stole to its boats and retraced its way down the 
lake and the river to Oswego and thence to Mon- 
treal, arriving there in safetv. 



■(ilill'S- H18TOBICAL SOUVENll! ol" I'lKKNlX. 



Golden Rule Lodsf °, No. 245, 1. O. O. F., was 

iiistitiit.il. AiiK. !."', l.S!(i, I).v Hciiiy L. Davis, I). 
I), (i. M., tor Oswcfjo countv, with the I'ollowiiig 
meiiilicr.slii]) (>. W. rundall, S. S. Hapheldcr. 
Wui. (U)uger, J. (J. Hull, U. Conj^cr, (1. \V. 
Thompson, Ed ward Baxter, AmasaP. Hai't, Dndli-.v 
Fish, Sainnel Avery, Jacob Nellis, Ash'ey I', 
Northroi.. E S. Chapiii, W. G. Ilateh, S. W. AI- 
\()rd, Tfioinas Davis, ('has. liieed and Curtis 
Mimt^ev 

The follow in^' were c'li'i'ted oilic- 'IS ; ( ). \V. H;iii- 
dall, N (J.; S. S. Haehelder, V. (J ; Dudley Fi.sh, 
seeretiiry; Win. C"on'.;;'r, treasurer. The first 
room tlie lodge (xrcupied was in tlie ilanehett 
l)loek. Tuesday evening;' of eaeh week was the 
night sideeted for meeting and trim tliat ti ic 
until the jireseiit not a meeting night h;is lie n 
miss d. 

In IS.")!), the loilge moved into thi' Leslii' liloeU. 
to gain more room. 



Island Tradition. Years ago a tradition ex- 
isted relative to what was known as Baldsvin island 
in the river opjiosite Ph i>nix. At the time the 
French Jesuits at Onondaga, it is said, tied from 
an apiireheuded miussaere uhicli they f. aied had 
lii'en ])lanned hy the Ouondagas, and at hreak of 
day made their escape from the mission house by 
means of canoes, many of them took refuge on 
this island. Tlie Indians they suiijiosed to be in 
full pursuit, and in oi'der to lighten their canoes 
they dispn.sed of a large ipiantity of treasure, in- 
cluding gold which they buried in tlu'sand between 
the island and the mainland, and brass cannon 
sujiposed to have been sunk in the river. In the 
early history of the .settlement repeated ertbrts 
were made to unea th the booty t)ut with- 
out getting any trace of hidden tre isures. There 
are ])eo]ile still living who well remember the old 
mall anil his scui who, year after year under the 
cover of darkness, sujijiDsing that tlicy worked 




ElsHsscr, I'iMilii. (lUl.DK.N HI Llv l.nIKi 

1. 1). fon-sl {'ranilall,:.'. E. A. (!uili|ili, :i, W. S. Wallaec 
S. Watrrluiry. .s, fliarlcs Ilfncc, !l, Charl.s Ciir.v. 111. Cliarl 
ward Dvki'iiiarj. 14. Tlitaii Mii.xlu Id. l.'i, .Xiithi n\ Miclili'. 1 
19, !•;. S.' Paichi n. :.'(i. M. S. Diiti-liiT. 'Jl, V.. V. Vickciv. -':.', 
a, Krank Kc-lluir--. :;ii. \V. H. Witln-rs, r.. Walt.r Hurr. :is, 
R. Swi-cl,:i:.'. I{. 1). l.iilhain.:«. liiiai- K.-ika-. :!4. .Viiliic I' 
bar, :is, Wain-ii Chawyo. :iii. .M.nl iim-r H.-ik t, 4II. im-cm 
Thoinpscm, 44, .1. liii M. I*a\ in-, 4."i. T <". Tatf-iart. 41). (If 
M.rurtter, .-ill..!. K. .Iiairs. .•||, .\s.i M. limtr.ss. .V.', K. V 
Harlow Si.vhury. 

At the time of the institution of this Lodge, 
there were two (iraiid Lodges in the state, known 
as the northern and southern districts. At the 
time of the cons ili.lation of the two districts into 
one(irand Ijodge of the state of New York, llie 
number <if tliis Lodge was changed tn No. 77. In 
1W73 another move was maih' to the Hetts block, 
and in bS.t.S tlu- lodge moved into its new and ele- 
gant rooms in the Hansel block. The nieniber- 
shi]i at jiresent is lliO. Following is a list of its 
present oHicers: I . B. Pomeroy, N. (J.: .\. F. 
Mun.son, V. ({. ; J. E. Jones, U. S. ; \V. I). Thoni]i- 
son, F. S. ; T. O. Taggart, I'.; U. D. laitham, K. 
S. N. (}.; E. K. Sweet. L. H. N. (i. ; F. Hooker, 
K. K. V. (i. ; Howard McOaiin, L. S. V. (J. ; Floyd 
Turjiening, \V. ; .Mliert Huntley, C ; E. B. Nelson, 
(). (i.: (ieo. Stiirgiss, [. (4.; (Ileus. Sixburv, cha])- 
Ltin: E. Dykeman, H. S. S. •, D. Kautz, L. S. S. 



K. I. 11. n. v.. .Nil. -.:. 

. 4, F. W. Hakis. ."i, .liiliii Wiiifr. 11, Orvilk- Walker, T, S. 
is.SixlnM\, II, t;.l. Haiisil, 1^', llowaril McGann. l.t, Ed- 
li, A. li. Kiiss. r.. Kiiuik .Siiaiililinir. Is. IJirliard s.killar, 
II. M. I'lirli'l-. LM. .laniis lira/iii-. :.'!. ri(i\ d ■rurjM.iiiii!;, 
H. V. .\lliii. :.'!i. Aihi'it Hiiiill.\'. :«!, I.;. .1'. Unnv, ill, B. 
iilliT. :).'>. \V. S. Uliiki-. :i(i. Artlii'ir M..v.-r. :);. .M.is.- Kuin- 
llits. 41. Iliiani .MiCaiiii, 4-'. Kdwaid It. Fish, 4^1, W. II. 
Ill- 1". Itni d. 4^. .\iniis .Miiiisiin. 4.s. I,. It. rmvi-is. 4!i, .M. 
liiirliijili. .'lii. Kiniirv Sinilli. ."i4, Cniri^i- Hi'Si'ltmi, 05, 



unolncived, dug ii the earth at the head of the 
island until they had turned up several feet of 
ground Hoatiiig parties a half centurv ago lound 
numt rolls excavations on the island showing the 
great amount of lahor in fruitless search for the 
mythical treasures of the Jesuits of the seven- 
teenth century; and tlii'ic are still traces of digg- 
ing to be seen covered with grass and bii.shes. 

Ba.ttlo of Mann Farm. ( )ne of the most 
.severe fights bi-tween the Fri-iK-h and Indians ou 
one side and the English in the other, oecurred 
only a fe.v miles below Ph nix, giving to the 
iia ..(• of that lo.'ality Biaddock, which isailisfor- 
tion of the correct name Biadstreet. It was ou 
tli» niorniug of the ;^d of July, 17o(), that (!ol. 
riradstreet. the coiiin;aiidcr of an English exiieili- 



'GK[F'S" HISTOKICAL SOUVENIR OF PHCENIX. 



tion til it h 1,1 safely itrrivel :it Oswi'^n with mi;)- 
jilies, set o'lt im bis ret'iiii t i Mlianx . The imrty 
cousistril of thive hiiuilie.l l)iMt iieii with a liirfje 
niinilier of liateinx whicli tli'-y had launched upon 
the Osvveg 1 rivei-. Th Mr course, the only liigh- 
way then availaliV lietween Albany and Oswego, 
was to Three Hiver.-i, thenw tlir.mKli Oneida river 
into Oneida lake, and :Jong Wood creek into the 
Moliawk river which was followed to its junction 
with the tludoou, excejit by small ]iarties wh 
tranqied over the hills from Kchenectady. 



The 
French and Indians to the number of .seven hun- 
dred hid been watching .several days upon the 
stre:uii to iutercejit the party. Seven miles uji 
the river from Osw.^go is a .stretch of ra|iids at the 
foot of which Col. Hradstreet's advance was first 
attacked with a vt)lley tired from the woods on tlie 
east side of the stream Pushing on raiiidlv with 



below, pushed on with the sane vigor, and there 
encountering a still larger lorje m.ide a desperate 
fight, iinally driving the enemy over to the east 
shore. In this action, which lasted more than 
three Louis, seventy of the bateau men wi re Ivilled 
or wounded, but the enemy lo~t more than double 
that number, many of whom were shot in the 
river while endeavoring to swim or wade across. 
All that saved the Bradstreet jiarty from a second 
attack, when they would jirobably liave eventu- 
ally been overwhelmed by a superior force, was 
the timely arrival of i-e-inforcements; Col. Patten 
with a comp my of grenadiers from Alluny arriv- 
ing that night, and a party who had been sent out 
from Oswego to lend a helping hand co i.ing into 
cam]) the next morning. The .scene of this fight 
is le-is than two miles behnv Osw.'go F.dU where 
now stands the nourishing citv of Fulton. 




Elsusscr, rieitii. .KlE liOILIl I'l 1ST. \V( IM.V.N S liKl.I EF ( '( IHl'S. Nci. IS.',. 

1. Mrs. M;i\ 'rMfiniOt. ■.'. Mrs. Cipia (\He, :i. Mrs. 'rotti-nliam, 4, Mis. Carrirr. .'i Mrs. Lizzie Mover, li, Mr.s. 
Miiv liriiiic II. T, Mrs. Duli.iisc. s, Mrs. Carpeiiti-r, 11. Mrs. Darliii;,'. III. Mrs. Dcek.r. 11. Mrs. li.illiHi, IL', .Mrs. 
Gutlii.li. Ki. I.iiilliaeh. U. .Mrs. Woculcoik. |.k :Mis. I lulclicr. In. Mrs. \V. K. Sparr.)W. IT. Mrs. Siiiitli. Is, Mrs. 
Crusbv, IH, Mrs. Catluirt, ai. Mrs. Ki-rnDii. 



liis leading boats to an island (Battle Islandl a 
short distance above, in order to prevent flu- 
enemy from crossing the river and attacking his 
columns which were following the west bank, 
Bradstr.'et and six men landed and the rest were 
ordered to secure the boats on the west side iiud 
join in the defence. After reimlsing a second 
attack he leil two hundred men a mile higher to 
another ford where he fell upon a large body of 
French and Indi ins and after a severe engagement 
drove them prcjipitalely over the blurt's on the 
west shore, many ol them being dronned. Hear- 
ing of an attem|.t to cross being ma e a mile 
farther up stre.im. Br.nlstrect with the balance of 
his ]iarty that h.ul in the mcaiitiiiie e iiiie up from 



Thi Woman's Ralief Corps of Joe Gould 
I'.ist w.is organized May l(i, 1H;W, with the foUow- 
iiig charter members: Maria Richardson, Lizzie 
Mover, .\lmenia Carrier, Mary Van Horn, Laura 
Covilh-, Emily Dntcher, Ella Decker, \ora Hard- 
ing, Adaline Cornell, Lottie Crosby, Mary Sea- 
mans, May Bennett. 

Mrs. Swartz, of Post Schenck, Fulton, ofiiciated 
and Maria Richardson was installed ]ire.sident. 
She served the corps in that capacity until Nov- 
ember, 18:);), when by reason of removal from the 
village she resigned. In December, b^;):), Mrs. 
Emily Dutcher was elected president, wliich office 
she holds at the present time (November. l!)t)2). 
There are now Iwentv five member.s. Thev 



10 



"GRir'S" ilLSTOKlCAL SUUVENIK ol' I'lKKMX. 



oc'eHjiv the G. A. R. rooms iu the Fuller lilock, 
wbicli tlicy liiive fitted up with new carpets ami 
wiiulnw ilnipciies, making; it a very pleasant and 
invitinf^ |)lace, in which tliey hold their niei>tings 
on the first and third Thursday evenhigs of each 
month. As au auxiliary to the Post, the ladies of 
this organization help in caring tor the sick. 

The Settlementof Schroeppel, (jironnunced 
Sknii)pcl| was l)cj,'nn in ISItd. It lies in the south 
part of Oswego county in the auj^le formed hy the 
junction of Oswego and Oneida rivers. The town 
received its name from Henry W. Schneppel, 
whose father George C. Sclimppi'l, was the ori- 
ginal owner of 20,(IIH) acres of land which he )iur- 
eha.sed from (ieorgc Scriba. Henry Schrccpjicl 



Pennellville. His .son who run the mill livedat 
Oak (.)rchard many years. 

Archibald t'ook settled at Gilberts Mills in 1818 
and the same year Hyman and Stephen Suttt)n 
bought large tracts of land upon which they bviilt 
the following year, .\ndrus and Hiram Gilbert, 
I.srael Bnrritt, John Willard ami a Mr. Phillijjs 
were among those who arrived in 1819. 

John F. Whitney, a Vermonter, settled on the 
site of Hinmansville in 1821 and b\iilt a log hous<^ 
at the east end of tin' river bridge. The next year 
the families of .Innathiin Hall and Samuel Merry 
became valued additions to the settlements. An 
early settler at Oak Orchard was "Tory" Foster, 
who accpiired the name by his connection with 
tlie Torv cause of the revolution. 




Mrs. S.J. Moycr. Pliiito. .VT'I'K.M Tl V lO STIf F.l'.'l s. 

Fulton. North from I'alclicn's ItcsidciuM-. 
Main. Nortli from .Mccliaiiic. 



.lcH\-rson, Ntirth Ironi IMne. 
Itarnes, Looking W<*st. 



settled in the town in 181!) and livi'd there u]) to 
the time of his death. The first white settler was 
Abram Paddock who built a cabin at the foot of 
the rifts on the i)resent site of the village of 
Phoenix. His death iu 1821 was the first in the 
town. Thomas Viekery, whose decendnnts are 
living at Ph<enix, settled at Three Kiver in 1807. 
followed by John Lemanier in the same year, and 
David Winter who came soon after. The next 
settler was William Miles in 1808. Then came 
John Foster in 1811. In 1818 (Jeorge Schro'p))el 
erected the first frame house in the town and the 
following year he put up a saw mill, both at Oak 
Orcharil. He died iu New York city in ]82"i and 
■was buried in Trinity church yard. His remains 
■were afterwards removed to thi' cemeterv at 



(leorge Waring settled in the town in 1824 and 
the same yciU' married a daughter of Jonathan 
Hall. The next two years John Curtis and 
Stephen Griffith became residents of the town. 

Other .settlers <luring the next three years were 
Henry .VUen, ( llcstes .Tewett. Frederick Shejiard, 
.\sa Shciiard. .loiiatliau Butts, Truman Haker, 
Stejihen Chatli'e, George Conrad, I. H. Dygert, 
Samuel I-'lynn. Charles Hubbs, .\lon/.o Utley,. 
Mcvscs Wood, Hodiiey S. Gregg and Keuben 
Sutt(Ui. Hodney S. (iregg was for several years a 
tavern keepiT at Pennellville and was .s\icceeded 
by his son .\mbrose. 

Steiihen Sutton, the father of Keuben servt d at 
Sacki'ts Harbor in the confiict of 1812. 

Deacon Turner came in 18:!l, Thomas K. Haw- 
li'V and Cabin Mason 18.'!2. John Fitzgerald from 



'GRIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PHOENIX. 



11 



Saratoga, N. Y., ami .Tohu Haskin is:i:i, Antliouy 
Youmans 1834, Daniel Phillips and AbiiJ Snyder 
1835. Prior to 18KI the settlers included John A. 
Youmans, Charles W. Candee, Hezekial Barnes, 
Isaac Wing, Isaac Mason, Philo M. Carpenter, 
Ira Davis, Orville W. Childs, Allen Gilbert, .Tohn 
IngeraoU, .\sa McXamara, .John Bottom, Isaac 
Like, .Tohn Haskiu, Asa Gilbert, J. E. Gregg, 
Michael Griffin, Wm. Dingman, Nath.in Huntley, 
Jesse Page, Duncan Conger, Elias Thomas, Gar- 
ret C. Sweet and Junius Wood. 

As showing the wild and uninhabited condition 
of the country at that time the experience of 
.John Haskin who got lost in a tamarack swamj) 
while returning from mill at (!aughdenoy is inter- 
esting. The distance between his hou.se and the 
mill was only tliree and a half miles, but he at- 
tempted to cut short through a swamp. An en- 
tire night and day were spent in wandering around 
absolutely lost and he was twice as long wi:hout 
food. 

Rol)ert I). Ellis arrived in 1848 ami :\1. F. Belts 
in 184.5. Other settlers during the next ten years 
were G. H. Northrup, Wm. C. Sjioonenburgh, 
Ira Betts, E. and A. Towusend, James Crane, 
Henrv and Hiram Fox. Hiram Parker, Harvev H. 



Early War Parties. -The site of Phreni.^ 
village is rich with historic associations. All of a 
century before the white settlers arrived, French 
explorers followed the Oswego river in their 
journeyings to and from the Indian villages of the 
six nations and Canada. Monsieur Dupuys is 
known to have brought a large jiarty up the 
Oswego river as early as lt>5(; and to have 
encamped but a few miles from PIkpuIx near 
what some years ago was known as tlie White 
Hou.se on the east side of the river. Count Fron- 
tenac passed a few miles east of here at Brewerton 
in 1696 when on his way to chastise the Irocpiois. 
Gov. Burnet traversed the wilds of this region 
with a party of English soldiers and Indians in 
1722, and in 1755 Gov. Shirley led 1,5011 men 
and Indians along the forest jjath and by bateaux 
upon the river on his way from .\lbany to Oswego. 

Three River Rifts was the name given to the 
rapids at this point although three miles above' 
Ph snix, the junction of the Oneida, Seneca and 
Oswego rivers gives the same name to that locahty. 

The County Seat Quesl^ion has from time to 
time agitated the people of Oswego county who 
have diflVred in o])iniiins respe<'ting its location. 



^L_a6 






M 








V^B 


^li^^^^^B 


i^fe^^-^^^i^H 




Wb 


Hp^^ 




' "" "-granite.- .^mati 


^B®s 



Mrs. S. .r. Mover, Pluito. FFLTOX STREET NUli'lll VliciM F. liliEED .S RESIDENCE 



Smith, Riley D. Price, Oliver Breed, Andrew P. 
Hamill, Hosea B. Russ, Travis Porter, James H. 
Loomis, James N. Sweet, Wm. and Dr. Davis 
Conger, Orriii C. Stebbins, H. W. Schroeppel, 
Van Rensselaer Sweet, C. E. Hutchinson, M. M. 
Carter, A. H. Brainard, Capt. Amasa P. Hart, 
David Porter, .Joshua M. Rice, Abram Vander- 
pool, Benjamin Hiuman 
nam, Enoch S. and John 
Carrier, H. G. Vickery 



Seth Burke, Dyer Put- 

H. Brooks, Gilson D. 

A. W. Sweet, Hiram 



Norton, Enoch Douglass, Artemus Ross and 
James Barnes. 

A heavy growth of timber originally covered 
the entire town, and its chief industries for many 
years were lumbering and stripjiiug bark for 
tanneries. Large quantities of liarrel staves and 
headings were manufactured for the Syrnoise salt 
and the Oswego tlour trade. In LSfiO there were 
in the town a large number of saw mills and 
shingle mills. 

The j)rincipal streams are Six-Mile, or Peter 
Scott's creek. Fish and Bell creeks and Sandy 
brook, besides the Oneida river which Hows along 
the south-east border of the town and uniting 
with Seneca river at Three River Point forms the 
Oswego river. 



Under the authority of the law erecting the 
county, enacted March 1, 181(), provision was 
mside tor two county seats, each representing one 
of the two "jury districts" into which the county 
was then divided. The naming of what was to be 
the two half-shire villages of the county was left 
to three commissioners named in the act, viz: 
Pearley Keyes and Ethel Bronson of the county 
of Jefferson, and Stephen Bates of the county of 
Ontario, appointed, as the law read, "for the pur- 
pose of examining and impartially determining the 
j)roper sites, in the respective (jury) districts in the 
county of Oswego, for court houses to be erected; 
and when said commissioners, or any two of them, 
having so determined, shall put their determina- 
tion in writing, with their signatures and seals 
affixed thereto, and cause the same to be tiled in 
the clerk's office of the county of Oswego, .such 
determination .shall lie final and conclusive," 

The construction of court houses in Oswego 
and Pulaski was begun in the summer of 1818. 
That at Oswego was a wooden structure designed 
solely as a court house, although its basement was 
snbsiHiuently fitted up for a jail. Thecimrt house 
at Pulaski was a more pretentious structure, being- 
designed to accommodate a commodious jail. 



12 



•OKll'ri" HISTORICAL SOUVEXIi; OK I'IKENIX. 



In 18.")H tlic old sfonc jiiil on East Second street, 
Oswego, wius constrneted, wliich answered every 
purpose nntil tin' ciiniiletion of the new j lil, in 
1888. 

In 1858 the lio.ii-.l of snp Tvisors appropiiiited 
iJiO.OOd for the er. etion of a new court house in 
Oswego and iif"),l)()() fur enlarging and repairing the 
court house in PnlasUi. The former was com- 
pleted ia Septemlier, 18ti(l, and its c().st was jftild 
less than the approi>riation, being S-l'.-il"'- The 
improvements on the court house at I'ulaski were 
made in ]8.")it. 

Until 18");i the records of the county wi'rekept at 
intervals in ])laces which seemed the most secure 
in Oswego and Pulaski. By common consent 
they were transf,'ir(><l from one place to the other 
with the election of a (derk, once in three vears. 



ta.\. The suixrvii-ors let the contact for the 
erection of a one story stone building to 0. H. 
Cross and it was comjileled in that summer at the 
co.^t of §1,211"), on th.- site next west of the court 
house. 

In Novendier of the san)e year an efi'ort wn« 
made to liave the county .^eat locat<'d ])ernianently 
at Oswego. This led to a hot discussion between 
those who favored and those who oiijiosed the 
prt)l)ositiou It became so acrimonious that the 
supervisois attem|ited to com)>romise by adoi)ting 
a resolution, November 22. for the location of the 
county clerk's iitH<-e at Mexico, it I)eing sui>)iosed 
by those who favored Oswego that the )ieo]ile of 
that town might in that way be won over to the 
)>lan of making Oswego the i)lace for the met tings 
of all of the courts. 

In the winter of J8");S petitions for the division 




W. K. .-ipainiw, IMicii' 



1, G. H. Xdrlhriip 
~, Nathan Huntley 

3, Sannn-I r. Put niuu 

4, John Cnilcl 

.5, A.stilev Watkins 
ti, Selh \V. .Mvorii 

7, Si. S. Ciislunan 

8, Jamrs ISiirtu'S 
H, Clmiincv Willi 

10, Samuel .-Ml.ii 

11, John Wall 



Till'. l!rlLUi;i{S (IK I'Hil-'.XI.V -CKllIP ciK K.Mtl.V SiriTl.l'.K^ 
Horn .Scttlcil in Diirl 

1L>, V.noeli S. liiooks 

i:i. Thomas K. Diifcher 

U. K. y. lililianisoii 

l.i. S -murl Mcri'V 

Hi. .\Mia.a !■. [iMit 

IT, Sainnrl .\\cr\ 

IS. .A. li. Swrtt 

lil. .lohcph Hani'hilt 

-.11 . Miniv ltr,-.-,l 

:.'I. Oliver Br.-id 

■-i-J. .lo,.,.pli Cillint 





I'll 


(IMliX 




ISIIT 




1S4:; 




1 Ts.-, 




is:.".! 


ls;\ 


ITWi 




1.h:i:.' 




1 T'.IT 




1 s:."!! 




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By an act of .\pril 11, Is.")], the <'iimmiin roiiiicil 
of Oswego was authorized to exi)eud not less than 
$2,01)0, raised liy a special levy municipal tax, 
for the erection of a tire jiroof county clerk's 
ofKce in that city, which building was shortly 
afterward constructed, and there the re<'ords havi- 
since been kept. On .-Xpril (i, 18")2, tiiecitizeiis of 
the town ot Kichlaiid were alsoautliorized to build 
a fire i)ro )f clerk's ollice on a lot given for Ihi' 
purpo.-.e by Bi-njamin Wright in I'ulaski, ])ro- 
videdtliit it be finished by He])tember 1, ]8")H, 
and the town was authorized to raise jfl,")!)!! liv 



of the county were Jiresented to tlie legislature. 
In December, ]S.')2, .Judge Pratt granted an in- 
junction restraining the county clerk from mov- 
ing the records from his ollice in the city of Os- 
wego. By a subseiiueiit action on the ])art of the 
su])ervisors and by an act of the legislature the 
permanent location of tl:e county clerk was fixed 
at ( )sw ego. 

Seth W. Burke, "the village blacksmith," ran 
a shop on the site now occupied by the printing 
ollice of the Phienix Kegister. He was the first 



"GRIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PHGENIX. 



13 



Macksmitb iu the villn^e and his traJe was greater 
than he could attend to. He was a skilled 
mechaniL' of the times when all iron work was 
done by hand. Also a Imilder he was called upon 
when a large structure was to he erecled, the 
Alexander Pluenix mill being put up by him. 
Burke's peculiar characteristic by i-eason of which 
lie never secured one-half of the fruits of his la- 
bors, was never to dun a man. In fact those who 
had large running accounts with him, if they were 
in his debt had the greatest difficulty to obtain a 
settlement. James Barnes tells of one occasion 
when his father, who was largely indebted to 
Burke made several attempts covering a period of 
several years to get his account Irom the easy go- 
ing blacksmith and, finally, was able to obtain a 
settlement and pay the large lialance which he 
knew he owed Burke, only after he had sent to 
him a friendly summons issued by a justice. On 
the other hand Burke was never diliatory in set- 
tling accounts against himself. His was that rai'e 
good nature Itacked by a sterling honesty that 
made him many friends. While hammering iron 
he studied law and in 1851 went to California 
where he died rich. 



county), which lay on the east s de of the Oswego 
river. 

On Miirch 1, ISKi, the present county of Oswego 
was organized taking in all of Onondaga county 
west of the Oswego river, except a small stri|j on 
the north shore of the Seneca river which the lat- 
ter county still retains, and including within its 
present limits that section wett of the river origi- 
nally taken from Oneida county. 

The town of Schneppel, passing from the juris- 
diction of one county to another, was for some 
yeiirs a part of the town of Mexico, wliich was 
originally created, April 10, 1792. The latter was 
of tremendous dimensions, being over a hundred 
miles long, from Lake Ontaj io to Tioga county, 
(■nd fifty or more miles wide, including the gi'eater 
part of Oneida lake (we .st of the mouth of Chitte- 
nango creek) and the military tract west of Os- 
wego river. For some years, as fast as the country 
became settled north of Oneida lake, the jiins- 
diction of the town wasexlenaed, and on Feb. 2(i, 
1796, the legislature annexed to it the country in- 
cluding the present town of Constantia and that 
part of the counties of Jetierson and Lewis lying 
south of the Black river. 

In the spring of 179."). Cieorge Scrilia erected 




Mrs. S. J. Mover. Phnto. 

BALDWIN'S TSL.VND 



THE LAND OF THE .JESLTTS' BURIED TKEASLTRES. 



OrjE^anization o£ the Town o£ Schroeppel — 

As the settlements, following the rt volutionary 
war, sprung up farther and farther west from the 
Hudson i-iver, the organization of counties and 
towns became more frequent and more and more 
restricted m territory. 

In 17.S1 the name of Montgomery was given to 
all of that territory west of Albany county, which 
pi'ior to the revolution had borne the name of the 
tory governor, Tryon. 

In 1791, Herkimer county, including all of the 
country west of the Mohawk valley, was organized. 

On March 5, 1794, the county of Onondaga was 
created from Herkimer and included the present 
counties of Onondaga, Cortland and Cayuga and 
that part of Oswego lying west of the Oswego 
river, a strip that was set apart as a "mditary 
tract" to be apportioned among the surviving sol- 
diers of the revolution. 

On March 15, 1798, Oneida county was erected, 
comprismg all of the present counties of Oneida, 
Jetierson and Lewis and that part of ( )swego 
county, (then a part of the original Herkimer 



twenty- four townships out of his purchase of sev- 
eral thousands of acres and the east two-thirds of 
what is now Schr(e2:)i5el was included in his town- 
ship of Erlang, No. 21 and the west third in that 
of Georgia, No. 16. 

In ISOt), the settlers of this town became resi- 
dents of the town of Fredericksbnrgh, and in 1811 
they were included in the town of Volney. 

The present town of Schr<eppel was organized, 
April 1, 1832. 

Reminiscences related by Gouverneur Sweet 
date back to the early "thirties," Seventy years 
ago, when he was ten years of age, he trudgeil 
along the tow-path of the canal, a barefooted 
urchin sent to the only grocery then in Phoenix, 
Walter Peck's, with a basliet of eggs to exchange 
for groceries. The store stood where Russ's now 
is on the southwest corner of Canal and Lock 
streets. Sweet's home was nearly a mile south- 
east of Three River Point. "All of what was then 
Canal street from Lock north was a low swamji, 
grown up with Hags," said Mr. Sweet. "Along 
the east side, now lined with stoi-es, an embank- 



14 



"GRIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF 1>I[CEX[X. 



ment rose up to hard ground -which gnuluiilly 
ascended to what is now Miiin street. The low 
firound was l>ordered witli elder and scoke bushes. 
A sprinf^ buhliled out of the enibnukment where 
the coruer druf; store is, and there we olitaiued 
tine water from a barrel which had been sunk in 
the earth. During the periodical freshets water 
covered the low ground along the canal and there 
-were times -when we had to cross from the heel 
path of the canal to the east side of Canal street 
on fallen timber. A young chap in these days, 
my principal business, when I was not shaking 
w ith ague, was to go to the store as I have related 
and to hunt cows in the woods. I'artly clewed 
grovuul extended east from the swamp hole. The 
bank coruer was a water hole. Bridge street was 
n Viiirely o|)en track leading up past Richsirdson's 
tavern which sttiod where the Windsor House is. 
Samuel Merry built a home where Dr. Drury 
lives, and resided there some time. In the base- 
ment was a store and tinshop. Farther up Bridge 
street, on the hill. Dyer Putnam built a house 
(now the site of Widow Betts' home). Charles S. 
Sweet, my brother, built the Sparrow house; Wal- 
ter Peck's house stood where Postmaster Merriam 



and w here Fitzgerald's store is was a cooperage 
shoji. The shavings were spread ont on each side 
of it to make the miry ground i)assable to pedes- 
trians. Putnam and Loomis luiilt the corner 
brick bliick which was succeeded by Hutchin.sc>n's 
building. It stood idle for al)Out a year and I 
then took the corner store and ran it several years. 
E. ti. Hutchinson who built the second brick 
block, with P. F. Conger and myself bought the 
steam stave mill which hiul been erected and 
operated by (iould. He wanted to go to Saginaw, 
Mich., and persua<led iiie to purchase a third 
interest and cany ou the mill in his alisence. 
Later, when he wanted to sell out his share 
Hutchinson and Conger bought in. When we 
dissolved Hntchins(jn took the store and I the 
mill. Then Titus E. (Jilbert bought a half inter- 
est in the mill and I took a half interest in his 
boat. Finally we sold both, Hosea Riiss buying 
the mill. 1 sold him the grounds, mill pond and 
all the juuvileges going -with it. 

"Gould mauulactured staves and |)ine lumber 
in Micbigau and bought and sold Michigan lands, 
linally becoming a iiuUionaire. He died in At- 
lantji, (ia., a lew- years ago. John Wall, Sr., 
bought lauds at the west end of the dam and 




Mrs. S. J. Movei . T'holo. 



MAIN STREET SOUTH FROM CILVERT. 



lives and J. M. Rice put up the building which is 
now in jiart the home of Harvey Wandell, erecting 
a store alongside of it. He sold the store to 
Thomas Dutcher. 

"My recollections of 1832," continued ;\Ir. 
Sweet, "are first of the new i)ine shanty which my 
father, Charles X. Sweet, had on the canal at the 
lock where he sold supplies to the boatmen and 
laborers. He and my brother, Charles S. Sweet, 
were employed ou the canal work of construction, 
the latter teaming. ^Mien it was coiipleled my 
father and he tended the lock. ^n LSJiS 
Charles built the Sweet store on Canal street 
where he and a younger brother, Addison, ciu'- 
ried on business together. Charles had been in 
Walter Peck's employ in the corner store(Russ's) 
as salesman and also had charge of his sawmills. 
In 1849 I bought Charles' interest in the Sweet 
store and Addison and I conducted it together for 
five years. We sold Out to .T. M. Hi(^e. 

"My father bought the Hubbard building (site 
of the Howard house) in is:!:!. It i)assed mto the 
possession of < )liver Breed and Orange Chapi)ell 
about 18:36. When my father was in the Hubbard 
building, as well as 1 can remember. Canal street 
WiUS the sedgy sla.'^h that I have described. There 
were two canal barns farther down the street, 



built a series of saw mills, with upright saws, 
where he did a large business sawing out ship 
spikes from hickory and rock idm. As the lands 
were cleared up the timber gi'atlually disappeart>d 
until it no longer became profitable to carry on 
the industry, fiardener Northrup, Wall's son in- 
law, manufactured lumber and staves for some 
time. 

"Peck's mills were bought by Russell Sturgis of 
New York, who sent a young man named Cush- 
man to rim them. Capt. Amasa P. Hart wanted 
to owu the water power and h(>ld for a big price. 
Cushman, Dr. Avery, myself and others bought 
of Stiu-gis the water power and shut down the 
mills. We wanted to offer an inducement for 
manufacturers to come here. Hart, who owned 
one-half of the j)ower, refused to join us in a sale, 
and so we advertised for some timo and tinidly 
made an aviction of our half, which took place at 
the Phanix house, which stood on the Baptist 
church site and was at that time, I think, run by 
Warren Snedec-ker. The juuchaser was a man 
from the first ward of Syracuse. The transaction 
was consummat<'d without wasting any time and 
he at once ol>tained the deed. Before the end of 
the week Hart was owner of the i)roperty. This 
was about 1S.jG. 



•dRIPS" HISTOIUCAL HOUYENIK OF PHCENIX. 



15 



"Ainoug the eiirliest houpes in my recollection 
were Sijuire Chaiiin's on Main street, ii dwellhiji 
on a lot now owned bv Edgar Viokerv — in front 
of which stood a hickory and a chestnut tree; and 
the Barnes house then oociipied by Mr. and Airs. 
Clements. 

"In the davs of my early cliildliniKl this country 
was scarcely opened. At certain seasons, the 
roads which wound in and out of the woods 
among stumps were inipassiMe. 

"Theliurial of my grandmother, Gerritje Sweet, 
has left a strong impression on my mind and it 
illustrates the condition of the counry in those 
days. Her sou Caleb had bought a hundred acres 
of land along the cauel near HiniuHiisville and be- 
fore he had got settleil he to<ik her down there to 
see it. Walking over to a knoll she said to her 
son that when she died she desired to be buried 
there. A short time after she returned to her 
daughter's at Three Kivers she expired iu her 
eightieth year. In accordance with her wish, her 
remains were taken to the site she had chosen and 
there buried. They were placed upon a wood 
boat and locked through the canal, the roads be- 
ing impassilile. My father was in New York on 
business and mv In-other Addison and I were in 



tract was divided into GO townships containing 
100 lots of 600 acres each, or (50,1)00 acres, as 
nearly as possible scjuare; the average dimensions 
of a town.ship being 9: miles square. The further 
requirement was that in default of a settlement on 
each (iOO acres within seven years the land should 
revert to the state. In each townshij) the state 
reserved six lots, two for schools, two for churches 
and two for the tilling out of.the quota of commis- 
sioned officers. Fifty acres of each lot, called the 
"survey fifty," was subject to the charge of forty- 
eight shillings ($6.00), to pay for surveying, and 
if that were not paid in two years the "survey 
fifty" was to be sold. Comphance with these two 
main conditions gave the patentee full title to the 
whole 600 acres. 

The distribution of lots occurred July 3, 1790, 
under the direction of the goverucu', lieutenant- 
governor and four state officers. The names of 
the claimants of the lands were j)laced on baUots 
in one box and numbers corresponding to the al- 
lotments were ])laced on liallots in another box. 

The pei'sou apjiointed by the commissioners 
first drew the ballot containing a name and then 
the ballot containing the number of the lot; in 
which manner each claimant's allotment was de- 
termined. iMost all of tlie veterans in the drawing 




Mrs. S. J. Mover, Pliot.i 



MAIN AND milDGE STREETS LOOKING NORTH. 



charge of his shack, the store at the lock, which 
was attended by a man employed by my father. 
We were small boys, but we assisted to lock 
through the lioat carrying the remains of my 
grandmother to interment. Her ashes were after- 
wards taken up and buried at Pine Plains near 
Three Rivers by her daughter Ann. (lerritje was 
the widow of Dr. Caleb bweet win) was on Wash- 
ington's millitary staff during the revolution. 
The great meteoric shower which startled all of 
this section of the country occurred the night of 
lier burial. " 

The Military Tract was laid out by the legis- 
lature of the state in 1782 to l)e ajiportioued among 
tlie soldiers of the revolutionary war. Those who 
ohose to settle in the west had be(>n provideil with 
land by the federal government and the state de- 
siring to keep as many of them here as possil)le 
offered as a sjiecial inducement a bonus of a hun- 
dred acres to ju'lvates who would relinquish their 
western claims. The tract following the west 
.shore of tlie Oswego river from Lake Ontario, ex- 
tended scHith across the state. It was required 
tliat all clainis should be presented before July 1, 
1790. The allotments were to be made by draw- 
ings which took place a few days later. The 



of the Cswego lands had sold their claims in ad- 
vance of the drawing. 

First Town Officers. — The first town meeting 
was held at the house of James B. Richardson in 
the village of Phoenix, March 5, 1833. The fol- 
lowing officers, who served the ensuing year, were 
chosen: Supervisor, Samuel Merry; town clerk, 
James B. Richardson; justices of the peace (three 
years) Ai'temus Ross, (four years) Orville W. 
Childs; assessors, Andrus Gilbert, Walter Peck 
and Stephen Griffith; over.seers of the poor, Hiram 
Gilbert and James B. Ricliard.sou; cominissiouers 
of highway, Samuel C Putnam, Abram Vander- 
pool and Lenian Carrier; commissioners of schools. 
Dyer Putnam, Artemus Ro.ss andStei)hen tiritiith; 
inspectors of schools, George W. Turner, .\lirain 
Vauderpool and OrvOle W. Childs; collector, 
Joshua M. Rice; constables, Joshua M Rice, 
Thomas R. Hawley, Leman Carrier and Alexander 
Ross; sealer, Charles S. Sveet; over.seers of high- 
ways, district 1, Walter Peck, '.', John Dale, 3, 
Jesse Page, i, Milton Fuller, ;">, John Porter, 6, 
Allen Gilbert, 7, Leman C'arrier, 8, .Vudrus Gil- 
liert, 9, George W; Davis, 10, Patten Parker, 11, 
Levi I'ratt, 12, Asa Sutton, 13, John Curtis, Jr., 
11, Lawrence Seymour. 15, Henry W. Schrceppei 



k; 



•(iUII'.S' UlHTOiaCAL HOUVEXIK OK I'lKKNlX. 




liorrowcd IMuiti 



HKW It. M, ll.iir II. 



The Phoenix Free Baptist Church wus or- 

giiuizeil, Sept. 2. ISili. iin<l the Kfv. .Iiilni 1!. \'ii^f 
was chosen jis its first pastor. The following otli- 
cers were also elected iit this time: Walter Peek, 
deacon; Harvey Hollister, treasurer, and .1. (i. 
Hull, clerk. The church was orfjanized by a 
council from the Gilbert's Mills chnrcli. ( in Mny 
11, ]8,")0, an act of iueoriioration was obtained. 
At that time, also, a committee was apiiointed tn 
take charge of building a church edifice. This 
committee consisted of the following named per- 
sons: Kev. W. W. Stericker, H. L. Hollister, W. 
Lesley, J. M. Kice and J. W. Peck. The church 
was dedicated May 29, 18.")1, the Bev. D. FuUon- 
ton, of Whitestown, N. Y., preaching the dedi- 
cation sermon. Since the organization of the 
church, the following persons, in the order named, 
have served as])asfors: Revs. .Tohn B. Page, Oliver 
W. Smith, W. W. Stericker, Stephen Bathriek, B. 
H. Damon, Charles Putnam, B. H. Damou, 
Charles tJook, Daniel Jackson. Schuyler Aldricli. 
Ezra Crowell, William 
McKee, J. H. Durkee, G. 
P. Linderman, A. H. 
Hanscom, W. H.Ward and 
A. F. Bryant. The dea- 
cons have been: Walter 
Peck, Josiali Chaffee 
(who served for -tl years), 
John P.Rice,AsaGilb(U't, 
Joshua P. Burleigh, 
Stephen ^I. Parsons, 
WdliaiiiBlakeman, Henry 
J. Burleigh and Klmcr 
Patchin. Stephen M. 
Parsons and Henry J. 
Burleigh serve at the 
jnvseut time. The ])re- 
seut meniberslii]) of the 
church is about 1211. in 
the spring of 1H78, dur- 
ing the pastorate of the 
Kev. J. H. Durkee, the 
church building, a wood- 
en structure, having be- 
come dilapidated and in- 
sullieient for church pur- Hm 



poses, a site was jiurchiised on Main strt ef , the 
buildings wliich occupied it removed, and the 
erection of a new brick edificj was commenced. 
Thi^ building, as shown in the cut, was dedicated 
March !'.». bSTll, the Bev. D. W. C. Durgin. 1). D., 
of Hillsdale, Midi., preaching the dedicatory .ser. 
11 on. I'lie estimated present value of the church 
(U-operty is about $10,0(10. Fev. A. 1". Bryant 
became jiastor in the spring of 1889. I'nder his 
laliois the church was gl'eatly blessed and 
strengthened. He served the church as pastor 
three and a half years. The next jiastor was Bev. 
M. Morrell, who .served for one year. He was fol- 
IowimI by lev. T H. Smithers, who was pastcu- 
tor eight mouths; his successor was Bev. S. S. 
Schuell, who was pastor of the church for a year 
and a half. Rev. B. M. Cloud, the presuit ])ast<)r, 
began his hibors with this chun'h, Jim. 9, 1898. 
The church has had rever.ses but is now in a fair 
state of iirosperity. We predi( t for it a future of 
great usefulness and bkstiug. During tlie ]ast 
two ye irs a great deal in the way of rejiairs has 
been aecoiiililislied, such as the construction of a 
steel ceiling, ini]U'oving the basement, etc. More 
than $1,200 has been cxiiendeil incluilii)g the cost 
of a new pipe organ. 

The Stat 3 Reservation at Oswego Falls was 
a sectiim of ground reserved from the militiiy 
tract for ])ublic utility, su< h as a fort, barra<ks, 
itc . wliirli was intended to afl'ord protectitn a 
what was known as the "great carrying place." 
The original descrijjlion of its boundary was that 
the line should begin (m the bank of the river ten 
chains below where the ]iortage begiiisand should 
follow the river up to a point ten chains above 
where the jiortage ends, keeping ten chains away 
from the river. 

The First Store in the village of Phonix was 

ojiencd by W»lter Peck in 182H. The old build- 
ing repaired and added to still stands and is still 



oceujiied for a store, Buss Brothers being the 
] >res(> lit pro) I rietors. 




nil'. FUKK wii.i, H.xr'i'i.s'r i in ki ii. 



•(JRIP'S" HISTOKICAL SOUVENIR OF PHCENIX. 



17 




Il(jrrowed l^Ixilr 



UEV. HEUBUKT S. SdTTHALL. 



Methodist Episcopal Church.- The history 
of Methodism iu Pliu?nix, N. Y., commenced in 
the year 1842, when the Rev. Moses Lyon held 
revival s(>rvices in the village school house. X 
class of thirteen members was gathered as the 
UHcleus of a new church. In the year ISfil) the 
society was legally organized into a church under 
the name of the Fu'st Methodist Episcojial church 
of Phil nix, N. Y., with twenty-four meiu- 
hers, the Rev. 1) D. Parker heing the first 
])astor. During the next two years land on 
the corner of Lock and .Tett'ersou streets 
was purchased and a church huilding and 
l>arsonage were erected. The conference 
of 1852 ap])ointed the Kev. S. F. Kenyon as 
the next pastor of the chiu'ch which had 
by that time increased to seventy members. 
During the subsequent years the chui'ch iias 
continued to develop witli varied success. 
By the year 1884 the church buildings had 
be<'ome too small for the increasing congre- 
gation and Sunday school and under the 
vigoroTis generalshiji of the Re\'. Loren East- 
wood at that time jiastcu' a new edifice was 
erected at a cost of .$10,00(1. In the year 
1897 the services of the church were enriched 
by the addition of a -socalion t)rgan. The 
property of the society was further in- 
crea.sed in value in the year IS'.)!) by the 
purchase of the attractive and commodious 
dwelling house on the corner of Lock and 
{'herry streets to be used as a parsonage. 
The present membership of the church is 
two hundred and sixteen with a Sunday 
.school of one hundred and sixty members. 
The young peo]ile's s<iciety of the Epworth 
League numbers eighty members the 
Junior's thirty-tive members. The present 
pastor is the Rev. Herbert S. Southall who 
was appointed to this church October 1902. 



Capture of a Fugitive.— An incident 
related by one of the elderly citizens of 
Phoenix illustrates a characteristic happen- 
ing of old times. Andrew Young and his 
brother-iu-law who Wiis known as "Ethan 
Allen'' because of his gigantic stature and 
rough and ready "ays, were engaged in 
running the Wall saw mill on the west side 
of the river. One day the constable called 
on "Allen" and telling him that the arrest 
of a fugitive from justice was desired, urged 
him to assist, adding that the party was at 
Richardson's tavern where he defied the 
whole town and that owing to his size 
nobody dared tackle him. "Allen" followed 
the constable and ui)ou entering the bar 
room had a large, muscular looking fellow 
— a giant who was boasting of his prowess 
— pointed out to him. "Allen", coming up 
froni l>ehind, got his arms vTai)i)ed around 
the man's l)ody pinioning his arms and a 
severe struggle ensued. It is said that 
they whirled around closely pressed together 
like a big whirl wind, banging against walls 
and bar and clearing outeverybody. Finally 
"Allen" succeeded in getting the ironsupon 
his man. but not until there had been ten 
minutes of the liveliest times the old Rich- 
ardson tavern ever saw before or after. 

The First Flag made in Pluenix was the 
work of several ladies who thought the vil- 
lage should have the national colors to display on 
special occasions. The names of those who assisted 
in the work are not on record except that an 
elderly lady a few years ago who was one of them 
remembered that three of the ladies were Mrs. 
Edward Richardson, Mrs. Phillips and Mrs. 
.\masa P. Hart. The Hag was used for some time 
at Sunday school picnics and other "doings." 




Mrs. 



S. .). Mover, Photo. 

THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHUKCH. 



18 



•Gliir'S' IIISTOKICAL SOUVKNIK (Jl' I'HUiNlX. 



Underground Station at Phoenix.- During 

sliiverv tiini's in tin' sdutli. when runaway slaves 
were making for the north over the several ront*?s 
which the abolitionists opened to them, seeking to 
reach Canada where they were safe, many 
found shelter and food in Ph mix whore there was 
what wtus then called an '•underground station." 
Oouverneur M. Sweet, whose house many times 
harliored the fugitives, then lived on ]\Iain street 
opposite iMr. and Mrs. Thomas Dutcher. "It 
was to their house, " said Mr. Sweet, "that the 
slaves were directed upon leaving Syracuse, 
They usually reached the village in the night, 
coming by one of two r()utes. from Peterboro or 
Syracuse, and they had no difliculty in finding a 
haven of rest here where they spent the following 
day getting refreshed by sleej) and lood and then 
proceeded north the ensuing night. The i)eo))le 
of Ph<enix as n rnle, could be trusted not to make 
a hidden slave's whereabouts known or ))ut any 
obstruction in his |)ath. When Dutcher's folks 
had more than could be accouRxhited with safety to 
the fugitives, they were sent over to our house 
and we were glnd to entertain them. They would 
be admitted with as little trouble as jjossible and 



lake vessels dared not venture, since, as is well 
Known to this day, a slii]) getting into those waters 
rarely gets out. if at all. without sustaining more 
or less lo.ss. 

The Newspapers — The first newspaper was 
started in ISoO, and was called the PhcE^nix 
Gazette, the founder being .lerome Duke who 
finally took as a partner, George E. Williams to 
whom he later sold out the entire bi\siness. In 
1858 the latter moved the i)aper to Fulton and 
changed its name to the Oswego County Gazette. 
The I'hcenix Democrat was started by a comiiany 
of citizens in Nov. IH'yi. Shortly after, Capt. 
-Vmasa P. Hart liought the plant and in 1.S51 dis- 
posed of it to James H. Fields. In 1855 the name 
was changed to the Pheenix Hanner and a few 
months hiter to the .\merican lianni'r and Oswego 
County Times. Before the end of the year its 
jniblicution was discontinued, in ]S,")ii it was re- 
vived by ;Mary Fiances Tucker Tyler under the 
name of the American Banner and Tjiterary tiem 
which eight months later, when it passed into 
the hands of Levi Jlerrill, was shortened to the 
-Vmerican Banner. Publication ceased in 1S57. 




Mrs. S. .1. Moyt-r. Pliolo. 



CHEKRY AND LOCK STREETS. 



put into a room where they were safe. WTien they 
were ready they took their departure without 
bothering us about it. Sometimes arriving early 
in the evening, so anxious were they to i-each the 
end of their journey, they would be gone when we 
got up m the morning, taking only part of a 
night's rest. '' 

From Ph(enix the "underground railroad," as 
it was called, ran north (at this point turning 
away from the river to avoid Oswego where oflicers 
of the law were always on watch) and j)as.sed 
through the towns of >Iexi('o, Hichland and Sandy 
Creek. The last ".station" before reaching the 
lake shore where there were craft ready to carry 
the slaves across the lake, was at the home of Mr. 
Geo. Briigden a mile and a half northeast of Sel- 
kirk in the town of Hichland. Reaching there the 
sectmd night after l<>aving Pluenix, thi> .slave was 
taken in a lumber wagim (usually covi^red with 
straw in the liottom of the box) to BigSundy Pond 
in the town of Sandy Oeek where by previous ar- 
rangement a sailing boat was ready to convey him 
across into t'anaila. It was necessary to avoid all 
the considerable jxirts on the lake; and Big Sandy 
Pond was especially favorable for small craft whose 
owners, watching their opportunity, were able to 
gat out of an anchorage into which the ordinary 



The next year the m.aterial was secured l)y Joshua 
M. Williams and the Phoenix Reporter was es- 
tablished by him. It was afterwards purchased 
by Dr. M. M. Carter who enlarged the paper, 
changed its name in 18(55 to the Phcenix Register 
and sold it Feb. 17, 1870, to J. M. Williams the 
jiresent editor. The Register is issued weekly on 
Thursday. 

In 1885 The Phienix Chronicle was .started by 
Harrison Bros. This ])a])er was published until 
1891. The Phienix Progress was ])ublished for 
three months during the year of 18114 by Wm. T. 
Baggerly. 

In 1899 the Phoenix Press was established by a 
stock company. This pajier is now i>ubli.shed 
weekly on Thursdays. 

The Young People's Society, Baptist 
Church, was organized during the i>a.storate of 
Rev. .\. H. Hanscom under the name of .Vdvocates 
of Christian Fidelity, and was a great help then, 
as it is now, to the church, s])iritually andfinanci- 
idly. It was conducted as the A. C. F. for eleven 
years, and during these years the society placed 
quite a sum of money in the bank toward pur- 
chasing a i)i])e organ. During the pastorate of 
Rev. Edwin Morrell, in 1894, the society was re- 



'GBIP'S" HISTOBICAL, SOUVENIR OF PH(ENIX. 



19 



organized under the name of Christian Endeavor, 
and elected the following officers: President, 
Edwin Morrell; vice j)resident, Mabel Von Wor- 
mer; secretary, Marie L. Smith; treasurer, Lena 
M. Ray. Its meetings are held regularly at (! M 
p. m. Sundays; consecration meetings the fii'st 
Sunday evening of each mouth. It pays $2r) an- 
nually on the pastor's salary and it ])aid quite a 
sum on the new pip-; organ when it was jjurchased, 
besides purchasing an Esty organ for the prayer 
room. The present oilicers are: President, 
Mrs. Eva L. Cady; vice president, Laura B. 
Emeigh; secretary,' Mabel L. Wyant; treasurer, 
Alice M. Kiunie. 

Town Clerks — James B. Richardson, 1833-5; 
Otis W. Eandall, 183<)-9; Solomon .Tudd, ISiO; 
WiUiam Conger, 1841-2; Seth W. Burke, 1813; 



The Woman's Missionary Society of the 

First Congregational church of I'hcenix was 
organized May 29, 1877, during the pastorate of 
Rev. H. P. Bake. Officers were: President, Mrs. 
E. G. Hutchinson; secretai-y, Mrs. Oliver Breed; 
treasurer, Mrs. Edmund ^Slerry. In February, 
1891, the society was re-organized and the Home 
Mission work was combined with the Foreign 
under the following officers: President, Mrs. E. 
G. Hutchinson; vice president, Mrs. G. L. Van 
Doren; secretary, Mrs. M. iNI. Cartter; treasurer, 
Mrs. Edmund Merry. The society is auxiliary to 
the Woman's Board of Missions and the Woman's 
Home Mi.ssionary Union, dividing equally be- 
tween the two organizations the money raised. 

The present otiicers are : President, Mrs. C. E. 
Stebbins; vice president, Mrs. L. J. Carrier; sec- 
retary, Mrs. J. S. Fox; treasurer, Mx-s. E. J. 
Drury. The jiresent membershi]} numbers 40. 




Mrs. S. J. Moycr, Photo. STREETS OF THE VILLAGE. 

Culvert, West from Main. Lock, West from the Railroad. 

Mechanic, West from Main. Main, South from Church. 



Joshua M. Rice, 1844; E. W. HuU, 1845; Oliver 
Breed, 184(5-7; Edward Baxter, 1848-9; E. G. 
Hutchinson, 1850; Harvey Bigsliy, 1851; Jerome 
Duke, 1852; John C. Hutchin.son, 1853; James M. 
Clark, 1854; George W. Thompson, 1855; Edmund 
Merry, 1856-7; Lewis C. Eowe, 1858-61; Alfred 
Norton, 1862; Stephen A. Brooks, 1863; A. M. 
Spoonenbm-gh, 1864; James L. Breed, 1865; S. A. 
Brooks, 1866; William M. Allen, 1867-8; James 
McCarthy, 1869; Harvev Wandell, 1870; R. A. 
Diefendorf, 1871; Martin Wandell, 1872-7; A. E. 
Russ, 1878-80; N. G.Vickery,1881; Edward Baker, 
1882-3; W. H. Conrad, 1884; H. S. Withers, 
1885; (appointed) 1890; C. K. Williams, 1886-7; 
W.H.Jenning8,18S8;W.O.Dingman, 1889; Richard 
Latham, 1891-2; H. C. Russ, 1893-5; T. C. Sweet, 
1896-99; C. D. Ash, 1900 to present time. 



The meetings are held on the first Tuesday of 
each month, the programs alternating between 
the Foreign and home work. Six tea meetings 
are held during the year. 

The society has been served by faithful officers, 
who have maintained it through many discourage- 
ments. ]Many of these, of previous memory,have 
been promoted to the better life. Among them 
should be mentioned Mrs. :M. T. Butts, Mrs. J. 
M. Williams, Mrs. J. I. Van Doren, Mrs. Mont- 
gomery and Mrs. G. H. Northnip. 

The Training Field where in early days the 
militia annually gathered to practice the man- 
oeuvers, was on the high rise of ground near the 
upper end of Canal street. Capt. Hart was the 
captain for some time. 



20 



'GBIl'S- HISTOKICAI- SorVKXTIi <)F I'IKKXIX. 



Captain Barnes' Recollections. I'mliiililv 
the oldi'st sottler of I'lucnix, to-ilav, is Captain 
.lanioH Jiarnt's, now livinfj; with liisdannliter, Mrs. 
F. Cartter, on Main street. Said he:- -"My 
father, who was Ilezekiah Uanies, moved into 
this house in the spring; of l.Sli"). I was then 
nineteen years ohl: 1 was horn in l.sli; in the town 
of Cluirlotte, Vt. He had lioufjlit six m- se\c>n 
hundred acres of Ah-xander I'lneni.x <'onii)risinj; 
the lu-esent site of the villaf^i' of I'hceni.x with the ex. 
ception of a few lots which had ah-eady been sohl and 
built upon, and wliich were scattered around the 
village. John G. Forbes, a i)romiiient attorney 
of Syracuse and a personal friend of my father, 
acted as the agent in the transfer of the property. 
It was either in the fall of 1S84, soon after my 
father made the purchase, or in the early ])arf of tlie 
spring following, before we took up our home here, 
that he and I came through from Salina on horse- 
back. The road led 
through woods all of the 
way, and we found here a 
little hamlet clustered 
close to the banks of the 
i-iver and canal and eut ire- 
ly surrounded by woods. 
The timber then standing 
consisted largely of 
beech, maple and hem- 
lock, although the sit(> of 
the village had been 
covered with jiine which 
had been entirely cleared 
away when we got here. 
Heavy wood.s came up to 
where the school house 
now is on the east, and 
on the north to the forks 
in ^lain street. On the 
south the river road ( lead- 
ing into the business 
.street in the village) came 
out of the woods on the 
rise of ground soiith of 
Lock street. 

"We took up our resi- 
dence in thisluuise which 
since then has been considerably enlarged and 
improved. Here has always been my home al- 
though really a small part of my time was spent 
ia Ph'Tui.x until lat« years, my connectiou with 
engineering work for the government taking me 
away during all excepting the w inter season. In 
coming to Phcenix we passed through the village 
of Liverpool and, here and there, a few clearings 
xvhere settlers had begun to open up their lands. 

"The Ph'iiiix interests w-liich my father bought 
included all of the water power on this side of the 
river except two saw mills owned by Walter I'cck. 
Four mills were enclo.sed in one building, two of 
which were IVck's and the others my father's. 
This building stood on the jiresent site of the 
brick power house between the canal and the 
river. The canal a-s vou know was com))leted in 
1828, and that was 'what started the little settle- 
ment of I'lucnix. The I'luenix jiroperty whicOi 
my father bought also comprised a grist mill 
■nfiich stood on the site of the Olass & Breed mill 




H TOWt'il ] 

One 



h.)to, C\l>T 
f IhcOhli-st lie 



just north of the saw null. It was built for four 
run of stone but contained only two run. Jietween 
the grist and saw mills was a .stave mill where 
barrel staves were manufactured for the Salina 
salt trade. Xoith of these three structures after- 
wards stood Hart's fulling mill, on the Pendt'rgast 
lot. Jly father built the race within a few years 
after he came here and sold power to other i)artie8. 
fn additum to his grist, saw and stave mills lie en- 
gaged in selling goods, opening a .store in a l>uild- 
mg standing where Kuss's now is. 

"There were at the time we moved here a num- 
ber of small story-and a-lialf wooilen buildings on 
the east side of C'anal street at its junction with 
Bridge street, .\s far as my reeollection goes, 
Mrs. Baxter oceujiied the building where the 
furniture store now stands or close to it, with 
millinery goods. Frank Potter's barber shop, 
just south of it, was then a dwelling which was 
occupied by widow Miles who afterwards married 
Jonathan Wood, one of 
my father's sjiwyers. 
.\rouud on Lock street, 
where Postmaster Mer- 
riam lives, was the resi- 
dence of Walter Peck. 
I )n the Loomis jilaning 
null corner was a two- 
story building jjainted 
white, in which John 
Sharp conducted a .store. 
!My memory is not the 
Ipest ami I may have over- 
looked some of the places 
of business but I do not 
tliink there were any 
others except thos(> 1 have 
mentioned, including my 
lather's, below Lock 
street. 

"Tlie Hicliardsou hou.se 
w:is a small hotel which 
stood on the site of the 
])reseut Windsor. It was 
the only tavern in the 
village at that time. Aden 
Breed came later and 
kept hotel. ( )liver Breed, 
who must have come here before 1810, kept a 
grocery which stood where the Howard house is 
and his jmrtnei- Orange Chappel lived in the same 
building. 

Subse(]uently he bought the Conger grist mill, 
which afterwards became the mill run by (xlass & 
Breed, and during his life time acquired consider- 
al)le of a fortune. The report of the death of his 
grandson, ten years tild, reached here this morn- 
ing ^Xov. 8) from Syracu.se. Charles Sweet 
ojicned a store where Vickery's is, some time be- 
tween 18!l) and 1840. There are no families in- 
tact living here now that were here when we came, 
although there are a few descendants. .\ma.sa P. 
Hart came afterward.s, an<l built the fulling mill I 
have described and, later, the tannery which was 
known as Hart S; Hentley's. He also built an- 
other saw mill. He .subsecpiently owned .'cveral 
farms and speculated a good deal. Other nier- 
cliants who followed us here were Kdmund 
H\itchinson and Marshal and Wilber Hale. 
Mar.»hal Hale is now somewhere in the west. 



.lAMlOS BAIt.NES. 
^iik'iits ol' I'lHciii.v. 



•GlUr-ri" HISTOKICAL SOUVENIK OF PHCENIX. 



21 



'•The physic'iiitis who were beiv about that time 
were Drs. W Iharas, Randall ami ]5ri)« n. Seth 
W. Burke, who has chiklreu living in California, 
where he went in IStH, lived across the road from 
us. 

"The only school in town, a suall district 
.schocd, stood at the junction of Fulton and Vol- 
ncy streets. Relifiious .services were held in that 
Imildinff for some time, there being no church 
•edifice. There was a small society called close 
communion Baptists, and there were several ITni- 
versalists, the njost prominent of whom I can re- 
member being Stephen Brooks who had a large 
family and who resided where Mrs. Pati'ick now 
lives. Hoon after we came here the Congrega- 
tional society was organized at a meeting held in 
tins room (fiont room in the Cartter housr-). My 
father was one of the first deacons. 

"John Wall owned four .saw mills on the other 
side of the river. His residence stood on the top 
of the hill: the old luiilding is still slandi'<g. 
Wall was iastrument.d in 
the construction of the 
bridge across the river 
which was built by acom- 
jiany organized to main- 
tain the structure by col- 
lecting toll. . He was the 
l)rincipal owner. The 
toll house stood at this 
end of the lu'idge just op- 
jiositemy fatlier's store, 
on the north si<le of Lock 
street. John Rice had a 
drug store in it. My 
father at the time he died, 
in 1849, owned a farm of 
about a h\indred acres in 
the east jiart of the 
village. 

"The constructiou of 
the canal made Ph'jnix 
all that it ever was. Prior 
to that time trade from 
Sidina north was carried 
on by iiieaus of bateaux 
which were pro))elled up 
.stream on the river with 
])oles which with the cur- 
rent also moved the boats 
down stream. Thev usuidlv 




lion 



wed I'lmlo. \V. K. 
Tlic Vitfl-an Photo 



been numerous in all of this surrounding country. 
After that, deer were not seen in this locality. 
The last one I saw came dow u the road at the up- 
per end of Canal street, crossed Lock sti-eet and 
jumped over the low rail fence which enclosed 
our yard. It was a large doe which passed but a 
few feet from where I was cutting wood, close to 
our kitchen docu'. and turning off across the lot in 
a lojie vaidted the fence and disappeared in the 
woods at about where the school house now 
stands. The deer snowbound in their winter 
parks from which they could not extricate them- 
selves except to ])erish from want of food or 
freeze in the drifts, were slaughtered in large 
numbers by hunters who searched out their parks 
and as they huddled together in fright, cut them 
down with knives or shot them. I knew one man 
who alone that winter killed twenty-one by means 
of a knife tied to a long ])ole. Crossing the drifts 
on snow shoes he had no difficulty in reaching a 
yard of deer where they 
had gathered for self 
pn-servation from the 
storm and as they 
bunched together he 
leached out with his pole 
and .stabbed them one by 
one. That winter yards 
of deer could be found 
in the towns of Lysander, 
Hchr.fjipel, (iranby and 
Volney. In Peter Scott's 
swami:) just east of the 
village were to be fotmd 
several deer in vards. " 



Scriba's Purchase. 

— (ieorge William Augus- 
tus Frederick Scriba's 
purchase of lands from 
the Roosevelts was 500,- 
000 acres for which he 
agreed to pay $80,000, a 
great part of which was 
never paid. The tran- 
saction occurred in 1791. 



SP.VHKdW. 

yTiiplior Si ill r.ivinj^ 



carried wood to 
S:dina and returned with salt and mer(^handise. 
The earliest canal boats that were in use were 
Cidculated to carry about ISO barrels of salt to a 
load, as much as several bateaux would i^arry, so 
that peo]de then considered the canal as a great 
improvement over river navigation, as undoubtedly 
it was. 

"My father in those days every yeai- cut on the 
average about a thousan I conls of wood and an 
iuimense quantity of saw logs which were piled cui 
the bank of the canal. During the winter of 
l.H;-?(i-7 he cleared the ridge where the railroail 
station now stands. That winter was noted for a 
large fall of suow, which continued aln;osl un- 
iiiterrujitedly fcu' forty days. Measurements ou 
the level sliowed more than five feet. In order to 
get out the trees as they were felled we had to dig 
livuches in the snow where the men worked and 
into which we backed the teams, .so that the tim- 
ber could lie rolled upon the sleighs. That sea- 
son was fatal to deer which up to that time had 



The Veteran Photographer, whose long 
exjierieni* connects the era of primitive photog- 
raphy with that of the modern school, is W. E. 
S]iarrow, now in his 72nd year. 

On his 71.st birthday, March If), 19(12, he sus- 
tained a paralytic shock, wdiich compelled him to 
give up his business. When he was .seven years 
old his father's family located on the Parker fwm 
northeast of the village iind se\'eii years later 
moved to the Burnet farm across the river. The 
ycmng man h.ad seven terms at the Fnlton academy 
and for a time worked in a nur.serv down the 
river Then he travelled in the south selling ])at- 
eiit medicines and finally ke])t books in a drug 
stiu'e. In ISoS he returned to PlReiiix and learned 
to make ambrotypes of Fred ISIorris at Fulton, 
He ojiened a gallery in Plin-iiix in ISO], then went 
to Illinois and in 181)8 enlisted in the union army. 
Coniing back to Pluenix in ISli."!, this jilace has 
since l)een his home. Daguerrotyjjes. ambrotyiies. 
meleniotypes.the wet jilate jiroeess and fin.ally dry 



22 



"GRIP'S" HISTOlilCAL SOUVENIR OF PH(ENIX. 




OKI I'hut( 



I-. K. WILLIAMS. 



plates were all iii their turn, as tlio athance in 
the profession introduced them, one after the other, 
subjects of his skill. He was born in Utica 
and was three years old when his jnirents moved 
to this county. Mrs. SDarrow, who was Sarah 
Grant, of Syracuse, became his wife in IHtUi. 

The W. C. T. U. of Phoenix was organized 
Nov. 2"), ISTT, wheo the following oHicers were 
elected: — President, Mrs. J. l.VauDoren; l.st vice 
president, Mrs. J. "SI. Williams; 2ud vice presi- 
dent Mrs. R. Simpson: 3d vice jiresideut Mrs. 
H. A. Willard; -tth vice i)resident, Mrs. E. G. 
Hutchinson; secretary, Jlrs. D. Thompson; treas- 
urer, Mrs. Herbert Vick- 

ery. But two of these are 
now left here. The first 
two in the list are dead ; 
others moved from town. 
We now have fifty meni- 
bei's of the Union also six 
honorary niemliers and 
six junior members. Onr 
present coqis of ollicers 
are president, Mrs.W. H. 
Wilson; 1st vice Dresi- 
deut, Mrs. C. E. Steb- 
bins; 2nd vice jiresident, 
Mrs. J. Smith; 3rd vice 
Ijresident, Mrs. G. Par- 
sons; corresponding sec- 
retary, Mrs. C. E. Steb- 
bins; recording seeretai'y, 
Mrs. H. S. Butts; treas- 
urer, :Mrs. H. S. Van 
Vormer. The depart- 
ments of work we ha\c 
taken up are the I'ress, 
Sunday Scliool, Evangel- 
istic and Flower Mission 
work. Wcliiive had very 
helpful and interesting 
meetings the secondTues- 
day afternoon of each 
month. Mrs. s. .LMi 



The Ship Canal wliicli the government sur- 
veyed to connect Lake Ontario with the sea will 
start from the Oswego river at tlie mouth of 
Brandy Creek, in the northern suburbs of the vil- 
lage of Pliceni.x, and run ahiiost due east, crossing 
the nortli part of the village and running in a 
direc-t line to Oneida lake. The distance is be- 
tween four and five miles. The camd strikes the 
Oneida river at the head of the big bend, near the 
mouth of Peter Scott creek and follows it to Fish. 
creek, where the river turns south and the canal 
eonlinues east to the north end of Pleasant hike, 
jiassmg tlirougli that body of water and ninning 
duect to Oneida lake, crossing the Oneida river 
a second time. A curious fact brought out liy the- 
engineers, who ran tbe line, is that Pli>!isant lake 
is the highest luxly of water between Oswego and 
Troy on the line of the canal, lieing four feet 
liigher than Oneida lake. 

Gilbert's Mills wils settled in IKIS by Archi- 
bald Cook and the next year Andrus and Hiram 
Gilbert arrived an<l put up a grist mill. 

In 18(5i drilling for salt was prosecuted to the 
dejith of 3-10 feet. Some salt, lint not in paying 
quantities was obtained, 

In 1823 Andrus Ciilbert sold his share in the mill 
to his brother Hiram and in 1814 the latter sold 
out to Jared Shepard who was succeeded by 
Josiah Chaffee and he in turn by Amos Ma.son. 

The first store in the town was opened at Gil- 
bert's Mills in 1820 by Andrus (iilbert, who two 
years later received Samuel ^lerry as a jiartner. 
The store was hurued in lSi8. Mr. Gilbert manu- 
factured large (pumtities of i)ot and pearl ashes 
and carried on a large trade in merchandise. He 
was a justice of the jieace for twelve years and was 
also sui)ervisorand postmaster. 



f ' -'^i' 





I'lieto. C. K. \V1I,1,L\MS KK.Sl DH.NCE. 



'GRlP'o" HISTOKICAL SOUVENIR OF PHCENIX. 



23 




Ol.i I'huti; 



AMIEI. AVKHV. 



Samuel Avery was bora in Pompey, Feb bS, 
IHbJ, iind died m Ph i nix, Sep. 20, LS91, in his 
eightieth year. He was descended from Christo- 
pher Avery, who landed in Saleai, Mass., in 1630. 
Mr. Avery in his youth spent most of his time on 
the farm attending district school during the win- 
ter and indulging his taste for mechanics at every 
opijortunity. He married before he attained his 
majority Miss Lueinda .Tone-!, and continued to 
cultivate his father's farm for severid years and 
finally went to assist his brother, William, who 
had a contract for canal work in Illinois. When 
the state of Illinois became bankrupt, he returned 
to Pompey and commenced the study of medicme 
in 18i2. He graduated from Castleton College, 
Vermont, in 1811, and began the practice of medi- 
cine and surgery in Rochester, X. Y. , He stayed 
in Rochester several years, but thinking it might 
be better to grow up witli some thriving village, 
he removed to Ph mix where, with the excejition 
of a few months in Syracuse and a year in Bald- 
winsviUe, he resided till his death. His wife died, 
leaving him two children, and in lsi9 he maii'ied 
Miss Eliza Flynu, of Halfmoou, Saratoga Co., Ijy 
whom he had two sons, both dying in their child- 
hood. His second wife died November, IS.Sit. 
His inventive faculties were of no mean order and 
several of his patents issued by the United States 
government give proof of their originality and 
usefulness. He carried on the business of cigar 
liox making for several years, also the manufacture 
of a mailing machine. After he disjiosed of that 
his time was partially occupied with an interest 
in the Ph mix factory, as president at times, also 
as one of the directors. The Doctor was a man of 
unbouniled generosity, a passionate lover of chil- 
di'en and had a great desire to make them happy. 
He was possessed of great originahty of thought 
and expression and had an inexhaustible fund of 
blunt humor. His life was a useful one and he 
filled the mciisure bountifully. He united with 
the !\I. E. church al)out twenty years Ijefore his 
death and was a faithful and consistent member. 



Samuel Flynn was born in Halfmoon, Sara- 
toga county, N. Y., June 21, 1819. Born and 
reared on a farm, he obtained his education at a 
ilistrict school, attending school winters and help- 
ing with the farm work summers. By making 
good use of his time lor study he was enabled to 
jjrejiare himself for a teacher and acceptably filled 
the position. In 1851 he came to Schrieppel and 
that winter he and Mr. Samuel Avery engaged in 
felling trees, finally clearing off one hundred acres 
of timber land. In 185B he married Miss Melissa 
Avery, daughter of Samuel Avery, and with his 
father-in-law built a comfortable farm house on 
the farm jointly owned by them, now owned by 
Mrs. William "Wiggins, but afterwards purchased 
by Mr. Flynn for a home, where he i-esided till 
the death of his wife in IHfi'). He was then left 
with four small children; one died in childhood, 
the others gi-ew to maturity. A son, Charles H. 
Flvnn, is a physician in Postville, Iowa. A 
daughter, Mrs. C. K. Williams, resides in Ph(pnix, 
and the youngest daugliter, Mrs. W. J. Scales, 
died at her home in Glens Fidls, in 1891. On the 
deith of his wife Mr. Flynn i-old his farm and 
moved on the farm he now occupies, in 1868. He 
has been a successful farmer, always willing to 
advance with the times and a\ail himself of mod- 
ern implements and modern ideas. He at one 
time filled the office of poorniaster, but his Hfe 
has mostly been spent in farm inirsuits. Mr. 
Flynn is kind and generous to the needy. His 
latch string always hangs out and the stranger is 
alwavs made welcome. He is a kind an<l olihgiug 
neigiiV)or, genial in manner— a man of strict in- 
tegrity and respected by his friends, he has lived 
to a good old age and is still hale and hearty. 

The First Ladies' Aid Society of the Free 
B[iptist church was organized in 1877 during the 
pastorate of Rev. J. H. Dui'kee under the name of 
"Willing Workers," for the express purpose of 
raising money to help decorate and furnish the 
new church. The "sociables," as they were called 




SAMCKI. KI.VN'N. 



24 



'(IKIP'S" IllSTOltlOAL HOUVKNIK OF l>HiKMX. 




1)1(1 riioi. 



(Il,l\ i;U lil(KKl). 



held froin liousc to house, were gi'eatly eiijined, 
iiud resulted in raising larfjt' snnis of mouey for 
the nlijeot intended. The first ofticers ^^ere for 
jiresideut, ^Irs. 1". M. ^letlarty; secretary, Mrs. 
1-'. Siidelniyer; treasiirer, Mrs. 15. Pintjman. A 
ii'W years later the name was changed to Ladies' 
.•\id Society. Last rear the total recei|)ts were 
!i?187,98. The anioimt expended was ,SI.Sl).<.):i. The 
following are the ])resent olfictrs: I'resident Mrs. 
X. .T. {'hatfee; vice ])resident, Mrs. O. ^f. Keilly; 
.secretiirv and treasurer, Mrs. .1. Wing. 

Oliver Breed, who for more than halt a cen 
tnry was engaged in business in Phoenix, was 
spoken of in local papers at the time of hi.s death 
as "an old fashioned type of character — quiet in 
his life, plain in his tastes: sincere, stiong and 
loyal in his attachments 
to his princiijles and his 
friends. He went on his 
way steadily and cheer- 
fully, living according to 
permanent convictions, 
rather than to pas^.ing 
fashions, and trying to 
do his duty in the light 
of the broad religion 
which recognizes the uii- 
versal fatherliood of God 
and brothel lioodof man.'" 

It was on Jan 2, ISilS, 
that alter a few days' 
confinement to his house 
he ex))ired while sitting 
crmposedly in his ea.sy 
chair. Altliough he was 
in his IMIth year he was 
still an active ])artner in 
tlie grist mill of iJreed \- 
Conger, a firm that was 
organized soon alter Mr. 
Urced came to I'hienix, 
which was in IHKI For , „,, ,,,„„„ ,„„,„„, ,,^. „. ,, 
the first few years he was (■( )N^ 



in thegr.ceiy business where Wood's meat mar- 
ket now is. In politics he was a str.)UK republican, 
a warm ])artisan and an influeuti<il adviser in local 
afl'airs, in which he took gieai interest, usually 
being the first to move in carry ing out a public 
project and 'n any ]>hilanthropi<! enteiprise. 

Mr. Breed was (xini ui Halifax, Vt., Nov. 2:!, 
IcSOll, and when he wa~ tilteen years old his piu'- 
ents moved to ()nond:i;>a \'alley. Two ytais later 
tliey located on a farm in Scl]riep]iel, then the 
town of Volney. His boyliood was sjient in f'lrni 
work and il was not until he was ))ast thirty years 
old that lie entered U])ou that active liusiness life 
that engaged his t nie for .so many years and even- 
tually led him into many successful ventures that 
proved ])rotital>le to him. One of his pet projects 
was to make the water power at I'hunix contrib- 
ute to the future greatness of the commercial in- 
terests of I'll I nix, believing, as he did, that it 
would become imniens.-ly valuable and would in 
time attract hither large inaQufaetuiing institii- 
t ons. Karly a'ld late be closely applied himself 
to huHiness and although frequently importuiH'd 
to take juiblic ofliee he declined to place hinii-elf 
in the position where public duties would inter- 
fere with his jiiivate biisiiuss afl'airs, only onee 
accejiting election to any cons qnential ])osition 
and that when for three or f(mr years he served as 
supervisor. Mr. Breed, in IS4S, was married to 
Miss Juliette A Ivord, who died in bS.'il, leaving 
four .sons, three of whom are .still living. (). C 
Breed, a surveyor, whose home is in Fulton; 
Frank ;\I. ]5reed, the jiresent clerk of Oswego 
county, residing in Pluenix. and Charles Breed, 
living in Fulton. On Xov 2<), ISoT, Mr. Bived 
married Cordelia Bradley, to whom two sous were 
born, one dying in infancy and the other, Dr. 
William B Breed, being a practicing i)hysician 
in Syracuse. Mrs. Rreed still occupies the old 
home at the corner of Main and Bridge streets, a 
pleasant and comfortable residence. 

The Fire which occurred Jan. 21t, 1.ST2, started 
in the Boomer it Bo.schart press foundry early in 
the morning when the man who started the fires, 
having got them going, was at breakfast. The 




;. Snarrow. 

TlifCTKlN UK Tin: NI'.W liltlDOF, 



"GRIP'S" HISTOBICAL SOUVENIR OF PHtENIX. 



25 




via photo UjiuioiI 1i\ W. K. S|i:iriow. 

WALLS SAW MILLS AN D A\'F,1{ VS ( A lif X ET W( )l{lvS 
SIDE (IF THE HIVEK, A HALF ("ENTrltY ACil) 

wtructure, a twd story frame Imildiiifi bi-twecii tln' 
I'anal ami river, was biiilt of large and heavy tim- 
liers which oceasioned a hot fire. The "boys" 
brought out the old hand engine and worked 
faithfully but they could not jn-eveiit the spread 
of the flames, which fanned by a stiff west lireeze, 
crossed the canal into the Betts buiding. From 
there the fire swept into V'ickery's next to the cor- 
ner store, then into Hanehett's three-story block 
where the postotfice was located; wiping out two 
smaller IjuOdings it crossed C'.anal street, aiul the 
three-story block occupied by S. W. Alvord stand- 
ing partly on tlie jjresent site of Hakes' furniture 
and undertaking store, was soon destroyed. The 
rcjof of the l>uilding next south was scorched but 
that was as far as the fire spread. The citizens 
aided the volunteer firemen, all of whom worked 
faithfully realizing tliat all tlie business section 
was in great danger of l)eing destroyed. Tlierc^ 
was no village water 

system then and the 
water had to be pumped 
OTit of the canal or river. 
The Enterprise company 
was then in full working 
force but with such a fire 
on a cold windy morning 
a hand engine was almost 
useless. 



A Revolutionary 
Relic which the late E. 
('. Fitzgerald prized and 
often made the theme of 
an interesting story de- 
scrijitive of how it was 
obtained, is now in the 
possession of liis son-in- 
law. Mr. ]). Burleigh. 
It is a plank wliich is al- 
legeil to have been the 
death bed of the British 
ofKcer,Brig.-(ien.Frazier 
when he was mortally 
wounded at the battle of 
Saratoga. Tlie stains 
caused liv the How of his 



W EST 



blood from the gaping wounds are still 
))ointed out. Mr. Fitzgerald u.sed to tell 
how it was that some of his ancestry who 
were patriot residents of Saratoga county 
at tliat time, succeeded in sawing the 
plank out of the floor and ])lacing it in 
safe keepiug beyond the reach of relic 
hunters; also how years afterwards there 
was a large reward ottered for its re- 
covery by some historicid society, It is 
a piece of jiitch oryeUow pine sawed out 
of the original timber before tlie use of 
power saw mUls — a hand sa\\ed jilank — 
and one or two hand wrought nails still 
cling in the places where they were 
driven. The plank is about three feet 
long, eight or nine inches wide and an 
inch thick. An iuscriiition, yellow with 
age has been pasted on one end. It is 
to the ett'ect that "On October 7, 1777, 
Brig.-Cren. Fi-azier, mortally wounded 
in the battle of Saratoga by a ball from 
the gun of one of ^Morgan's men, 
Timothy Murjihy, being carried to the house 
of which this board was a part, he died on the 
morning of the 8th at eight a. m. On the evening 
of his fall when it was rendered certain that he 
could not recover, he sent for Gen. Burgoyne and 
reque.sted that he might be buried at six a. m. the 
following morning in the great redoubt on the 
hill." The granting of this request, the inscrip- 
tion goes on to say, was a cause of complaint 
among the friends of Burgoyne who thought that 
in order to comply Avith the request the (ieneral 
lost the British army. 

The Phoenix Trottinef Association which 

at one time was composed of lovers of fast horses 
constructed the half mile track which is now a 
part of the grounds of the Phoenix Union Agricul- 
tural Society. It is one of the best tracks in this 
liart of the state and is kejil in goo,! order. As 




(ililPhofo loam 



il liy W. E. Spanciw. 

(•(iXSTHrCTIliN 



(IF -I'HE NEW n.KM. 



2() 



•(iuri's- 



ISTOUICAI. SOl'VEMK oK I'lKKMX. 




LOKIUyi'TA (liKSSI-.criK IIAUT 



AM ASA 1'. II A HI 



the name iiuiilios, the iii-esent society is coni- 
I)Osed (if life iueml)ei-shi])S at a cost of $10, 
organizeil February ti, 1.ST3, auil managed hy 
a board of directors consisting of two from each 
of the three towns, Schrieppel, Clay, and 
Lysan<ler. On Jannary 22. LSKSI, it was re- 
organized and incorporated with the issue of 150 
shares at $10 each. The society has the reputa- 
tion of paying all premiums in full no matter 
■whether there is a loss or gain from the annual 
meetings. The ofKcers for 19112 are: President, 
John O'Brien; Vice-Presidents, W. M, .\bbott 
and Barney Martin; Secretary. C K. Williams; 
Treasurer, "N. A. Hughes; General Superintend- 
ent, E. K. Sweet; Chief of Police, .Tames B. 
Kinslow. 

Amasa P. Hirt, for several years a large 
land owner in Schrteppel and at one time proprie- 
tor of the water power on the Oswego river, east 
side, hi Phcenix, was liorn on a farm in the town 
of Van Buren, Onondaga 
county, N. Y., Sept. 2S, 
1814. His gi-andfather, 
Eber Hart, a revolution- 
ary soldier, came there 
from Providence, K. I., 
in 1800. He died in IS 12 
or '3 and was buried at 
Son-ill Hill near his 
home. Eber Hart, jr.. 
father of Amasa P., was 
born at Providence in 
1787, and came to New 
York with his ])arents. 
In 1812 he married ^liss 
Betsey Howe, witli whom 
lie lived in wedded life 
for ').") years, her death 
occurring in 181)7. He 
died at the home of Ad- 
nirani Hart, .\ug. 1, 187:i. 
Eber was a soldier in the 
war of LSI 2. serving in 



the state militia at Sacketts Haibor. There 
were eleven children, of wlmm Amasa was 
the oldest. Eber was reared in the society 
of Friends. From the farm .■\niasa Hart, 
when 16 yeai'S of age, went into a shoj) to 
learn wool carding, a trade which he master- 
ed, but which he carried on only a few 
vears. On Jan. 1. 18:!i». he was married to 
Loretta, the daughter of I5clden and Lucy 
(Avery) Kesseguie, and the ensuing spring 
they inoveil to Sterling, Cayuga county, X. 
Y., where he engaged ni carding wool until 
bsil.wlun lie sold out and moved to Phcenix. 
Here he bought a tract of land froni Hezekiah 
Ijiiincs. enclosed by tlie river and canal, 
and built and ecpiijiped a carding null with 
water jiower which he obtained by cutting 
a race through to the mill which stood op- 
posite to where Pierce i^ Pendergast's gi-i.st 
mill now stands. The building was after- 
wards niched to the east side of the race 
and for yenrs us-ed as a storehouse. Shortly 
after hi.s arrival he bought the property at 
Bridge and Jetterson streets and erected a 
house where he lived for more than fifty 
years. Mr. Hart had very little di.spo.sition 
for restraint in business transactions and he 
engaged quite largely in buying and selling 
property of any kind in which he thdUght he saw 
an opi>ortunity to make iiHUiey. 

Mr. Hart's first venture outside of his carding 
miU was in 1847, when he bought of .\ddison B. 
Lewis, F. Phillips and Wm. H. Miu-vin the land 
upon which he in company with Wm. Bentley and 
Hamilton ('lough afterwards built the taniiei^. 
Aliout the same time these three gentlemen also 
engaged in the mercantile business on what is now 
known as the Kuss corner. The tannery was 
burned in lS.')(laud the same year rebuilt by Messrs. 
Hart and Bentley who afterwanls s-olil out to 
Messrs. Joseph B. and Daniel Hubbard. Mr. 
Hart rejiurchased the propertv in 1S70 and the 
building again burned down. 'Then he rebuilt for 
Sinclair chair factory and later .sold out. The 
propertv is now occupied by Sweet Bros. 's paper 
mill. Mr. Hart, .luring all these years, carried 
on mercantile business, moving from the Russ 




.\. r. ii.\l{'i"s iil.li lliiMi;. 



'GRIP'S" HISTOlilCAL SOUVENIE OF PHCEXIX. 



27 



^^fe 







^SB^S^P* 



-:» . .1% 



;S^^^S^^|^ rl :'^ V\ 



. ^^ZJSSS£!ii^^^^^g^i&^ * 



Old Photo loaned by J. M. Williams. {See other »!:roiips old settlers pages 12 and 'i^i) 

A POPULAR HOSTELRY IN EARLY DAYS; GROUP OF CITIZENS OF ln.ii. 

1, H. W. Weeden. 2, Patrick Miirpliy, 3, I). A. Fox, 4, Emory Smith, .">, J. Warren 
Williams, li Willard Gould. H. Michael Duffy, 1(1, William Ash, 12. H. D. Fox, U, John 
fox, Hi, Ira liurs-ess, 17, Wm. MunMfer, lil, licrt Cal liciuf , 21, H. S. Phildps, 22, Evert 
Hubbard, 2:1. Will Davis.26. Ward Horr,27, Enoch ilclonn', 2H,Edward Munger, 29. Hud- 
son Davis, ati, L'ash Peck, 31, James Tobin. 32, Oharlie Williams, 34, Eddie Cathcart, 
35, George Willet, 38, James Pitcher, 38, Johnny Fox. 

corner farther down the street into the biiihling 
■which stood on the ground adjoining the present 
Fitzgerald store and which burned down in 1890. 
It was there that his son, Adelbert, after his re- 
turn from the war went into partnership with his 
father; and when the latter reth'ed in 1883, C. P. 
Kimball became a ]iart owner of the liusiness 
after that to be carried on under the name of Kim- 
baU & Hart. 

It was not long after his tannery 
property deal that Mr. Hart, in 
company with K. Williams, erected 
a saw mill. The latter died before 
the mill was in operation and on 
Jan. 23, 1852, Mr. Hart l)oiight his 
interests of the estate. In 18.54- 
'9 Mr. Hart served the town and 
county as .stiperintendent of the 
poor, during u jiart of \\'hich time 
the two offices were comliiiied in 
one. Another enterprise in which 
Mr. Hart was engaged was in the 
woolen mill which stood on the 
upper end of Bridge street, pro- 
perty which he bought of .Mr. 
Barnes. He was also a director (d 
the Oswego and Syracuse I'lanlx 
Koadcom|jaijy and was atone time 
vice president of the Oswego A: 
Onondaga Insurance Co. He was 
vice president of the Rural Ceme 
tery association in 1.S77 and was 
one of the incorporators of the 
Plueni.x bank in 18lj9. When the 
new public .school was erected he 
was a lueniln'r of the committee 



which had charge of its 
construction. During the 
latter piiit of the fifties, 
he got hold of the Phoenix 
Reporter which he sold 
to M. M. C!artter in 18150. 
He was also a trustee of 
the Congregational 
church for several } ears, 
and assisted in building 
the new structure. In 
1858 he was named by 
the legislature as com- 
missioner to erect the 
W( )od('n 1 ii'idge at Phc I'nix, 
the contract for the con- 
struction of which he let, 
Aug. 18, of that year. 
The amount appropri;ited 
was $9,()()0. He wasidso, 
in 18()(i, the commis- 
sioner who constructed 
the Oak Orchard bridge. 
On Jan. 27, ]8(;5, Mr. 
Hart was ajijiointed su- 
perintendent of the Os- 
wego and Baldwinsville 
canids and the Oswego 
and Oneida rivers im- 
provement work. Mr. 
Hart was largely interest- 
ed in boats which jjlied 
on the canal and river, 
being the owner, among 
others, of Isliind Queen 
and the City of Buffalo. In 1872 he bought the 
steamer Lewis Lawrence of Chauncy Mackey, then 
soldapart interest to R.A.Prichard whomhe after- 
wards bought out. This boat made alternate 
trips between Syracuse and Phoenix and Phoenix 
and Utica. When the Empire Iron Works 
burned in 1871 it was rebuilt bv A. P. Hart who 
old it to J. I. Van Doren. In 181)8 Hart \' Car- 




Borrowed I'holo. TIIF. 
I. Ciipt. Waller I'lMid 
Wairi, .'i, Harr\- Dunham, ti. .Arthur C. 
.Miller. '.I. lliiuy Penilerfi-ast. Ill, Charle 



H(KNIX RASE li.M.L TE.\M. 

i-.ist. 2. IrN'itiK' Wood. 3, Ibaiee Decker 



Me 
Ralph. 



4, Glenn 
hi Hanscoui, i^, Leo 



28 



"(iKU'.S" lllsroKICAL SorVKNIi; OF I'IKKMX. 




Old I'lioios. 

MHti. .ii:ui '1 in;N sweet. 



.IICDITIIKN s\vi:i;-i 



rier l)ougbt the cheese fjictorv wliicli in IST") tliev 
sold to Kimball \- Martin. lu issi Mi- Hart 
bought pro])erty north of the Loouiis pliuiiii;^ mill 
anrl erected ii building for the acconnnodatioii of 
an oil stone fuetory which was to be conducted bv 
11 man named (lilU'tte who was from Syracuse. 
The industry was never a success. 'I he building 
wan burned two yeai-i later. Mr. Ibirt had un- 
bounded confidance in the future of tin water 
power on the river at Phcenix. In company with 
others hrt bought all of the rights and e(iiuties,his 
own interest being one half of the whole. When 
the others sold out the other half he succeeded iu 
getting that, also, and wxs afterwards sole owner 
until he sold out, from time to tinu' to indinibials 
small interests, finally 
disposing of the last of 
his h<ddings to J. T. Van 
Doren. (Japt. Hart ob- 
tained his military title 
because in the days of the 
old state militia — the time 
of general trairjiiig days 
Hn<l ginger bread — he was 
cai)taiu of a company. 
His death occurred Hej).. 
n, ISiHl, after an illness 
of about four weeks. His 
widow <lied nearly four 
years later, .\ug. i, l!)0(l. 
They had seven <-hildreu, 
three of whom are living: 
Lucy B. and C mh-liaC, 
the latter the widow of C. 
.P. Kimball, at I'll cnix; 
and Charlotte Ann, the 
wife of Albeit Ho])kins, 
who.se home is at Piift'alo, 
X. Y. The other ohil- 
drcQ were .\delbert P., 
Uetsey Evelyn, Fninces 
Adelle and .\masa P., jr. Mrs. S. .1. .Mo.vir Tli. 



Jeduthen Sweet was burn on a farm ou 
Poiiiin'v Hill, Maivh 21, 182(1, and, now 
living in the village of Ph(enix, is in his 
TTth year. For several years, dating from 
ISliT, he was engager! largely in farming iu 
the town of Schiieppel. His lather, Darius 
T. Sweet, who came from < ana<la, was 
among the early settlers in the town of 
I'diiipey, a section from which s|)ruiig many 
distinguished men. One of his daughters, 
Mary, who is now dead, married Klmnnson 
(lie.sebrc) and they owned and managed a 
farm a few miles north of Plm-nix at the 
time .'eduthan moved here. The other 
daiigliter, Mrs. (Charlotte Calile, is now a 
resident of Oneida, N. Y. Henry T. Hweet, 
one of his sons, resides at Mexico. N. Y'. 
There were alioiit 200 acres which Jeduthen 
f^weet purchased nf .lan.es Prowii, located 
nil the Pi'nnellville road a mile and a half 
li-om I'll 1 nix. It was there that he engaged 
largely in dairying and his carelnl manage- 
iiielil of the place was rewarded with suc- 
cess. Five years later, after living in the 
village of I'lKPiiix a year, he pin chased the 
faiiii of his brot!.er-in-law. Air. Chesebro 
where he re.sided and, as had been his 
cii.stiiiii. maintained a large diiiry. until 
1S7(; when lie houglit a lioine in this village 
ami settled down lieiv intending to engage in 
some occupation. Leasing a )ilot of gromid he 
established a coal business which engaged three 
years of his time, until the owners reijuired it for 
their own use, when he retired from active occu- 
pation, except such as (urned his attention to the 
improvement and care of village real estate which 
for a lime he bought ipiite largely, erecting new 
houses and fitting u]) • Id ones on Spring and 
Volney streets. i)uriiig lecent years .Mr. Sweet 
has indulged in that leisure which abusy and pro- 
fitable life has earned, but which only his lul- 
vanced years would impose upon him. He has 
not been active in politics, although in 1877-81 he 
served as overseer of the jioor. Mrs. Sweet, whom 




.IIMMTIII^N SWKI'.'rs Ifl-.SIDKNTK. 



"GBIP'S" HISTOKICAL SOUVENIR OF PHCENIX. 



29 



he married at Pompey, Jan. ], IS if), iind who 
WHS his chei'is!ied couip.iuiou and helpmeet for al- 
most a halt' a ceiiturv, was a devoted member of 
the Methodist church, with which she united 
while they were residents of that town, in 1860. 
She wa.s horn in Pompey, July 23, 1830, her 
maiden name being Mary Bush. Her death oc- 
curred in this village Aug. 28, 18,)8. Had she 
lived four months longer the couple would have 
celebrated their "golden wedding." Three of 
their five (children ai'e now living, Mrs. 0. E. 
Rector at Jersey City with whom Mr. Sweet 
spends most of the winter seasous,JndsouH. Sweet, 
also a resident of that place, and William A. 
Sweet of Syracuse. The other two are dead. 

Y. P. S. C. E. - In Sept. 1885, through the in- 
fluence oi Rev. G. F. Montgomery, pastor, the 



sent it is giving an average of .^35. 00 a yeai', 
through the regular boai-ds. Mr. George Hast- 
ings, one of the members, is at jn'esent working as 
missionary in Santiago, Chili. The .society has al- 
ways been represented at county, state and na- 
tional conventions. The member.ship is 77, of 
which 70 are active, 1 associate and honorary. 
The otticers are as follows: President, Sumner 
M. Smith; vice i)resident. Jay Hughes; recording 
secretary, Lena b}. Patchen; coriesi)t)nding 
secretary, 'Sirs. S. J. Mover; treasure', Mark 
Ward. 

The Schroeppel Homestead stands on a rise 
of grounil facing the road as it climbs from the 
Oneida river after crossing Schroeppel bridge, at 
Oak Orchard. The highway leading north from 
Syracuse forks in the village of Liverpool, 




THE YllINC l'i:i)I'I,i;.S SDCIETY CHUUSTIAN EXDEAVOK, CONG11EG.\TION.\ L (HrHCH. 

1, C. E. Caiiaec, :.', Eila lioli. :!, Leonard E. Doilse, 4, Murk O. Ward, ."i, Mrs. S, J. Moyer, I'i, Charlie M. 
Oaiiclpp. T, I/cila MLTi-iam. s, f;nvric IJoli. II, Kutli E. ranilec. 10, Sumner M. hiiuitli. U, Liuv E Butts 1~ 
Mrs. P. ]>'• liusf, M. Edna M. Ward. 14, Mande A. Fralick, l."i. Nannie M. DvKart, K. Emma A. Welcli," 17, 
C:ara D. Ka.v, IS, Cliiirk-s E. DcLonft, 111, Mrs. V. D. Asli, -'II, Fannie A. Kaiar, :;i, Knfh E. Candi-i-. i2. Eva 
Kiml)all. 'Si, Ada L. Witbers. 2i, Miirltia J. Sweet, S\ Nellie E. Larkin, ^i, Lena E. Patchen, L'7 Rev. T. W. 
Harris, » M. Altfenia Khodes, L'9, NearlDB' L. Emmons, lill, Helen Hreed, :il, Fern liiitts.Si Sarah K. Rhodes. 
Si. Charles G. HaliOi. 



young peoi)le of the First (!i>ngregatioual churcli 
organized the Young People's Society. In Sept. 
1887 tbey were changed to Y. P. S. C. E. adopt- 
ing the pledge and model constitution. The or- 
ganization has been a strong one since its birth. 
The co-operation and energy of its members have 
resulted in much good. The society has materi- 
ally aided the church. Anunig many things it has 
contributed regularly to the expenses of the church. 
It has redecorated the chap.d, furnished it with a 
cai'pet and iiiano, provided a water motor for the 
pipe organ, paid for the building of a chhuney, 
fireplace and setting of a tine mantel, the gift of 
J. I. Van Doren. This .summer it has put a port- 
land cement floor m the cellar of tlie )iar.s(>nage. 
A missionary library has been .secured. The so- 
ciety paid the expen.ses of a colored boy in At- 
lanta University, (la., for several years. At pre- 



the left hand load riiiining off to Belgium and 
Three River Point and that at the right hand to 
Euclid and Oak Orchard. Relgium and Euclid 
are connected by the road running between BaJd- 
winsxille and Brewerton, crossing the two north 
and .south re ladsnt right angles at those two villages. 
When the roads and weather are favorable the 
dri\>' to tlie Schroeppel mansion from Syracu.se is 
interesting. The old home is now owned and 
occupied by A. W. Schro'ppel, the grandson of 
the original Schneppel who built the house and 
was the proprietor of a \erv ciuisiderable tract of 
ianil. When he died the two daughters, Mrs. Dr. 
I'eniiell and Mrs. John E. Hinmau, to whom he 
left all of his j)roperty, burned the will and then 
ilivided the property, giving to theh- brother, 
Henry W. Schrcpppel, father of the present owner, 
the old home embracing a considerable tract 
of land. The husliand ot Mrs. Vr. Pennell 
prominent New Yoik practitioner and Mr. Hiunian 



30 



'CilUP'S' HISTORICAL SOUVKMK OF PHCENIX. 



•was an attorney at Utica. Pennellville aud Hin- 
manville were tlie suiiiiiier homes of the two 
fnmilies after wliom the two villnfjcs were named. 

The Enterprise Fire Co. No. 1 »ns orfjiin- 
ized m .Innuary, IHii'l. The ottieers at that time 
were: Foreman, T. .T. Davis; 1st as-st. foreman, 
O. H. Smith: •Jmi as^t. foreman, Enoch Conf^er: 
secretary, Jerome Duke; treasurer. E. F. Hicliiird- 
son. There was no chief fireman for a number of 
years. \Vlien T. J. Davis was made chief the 
equijimeut was a small hand engine of fjood 
capacity which served the village for many yeiirs 
and won many tr(>])hies, some of which are still 
in possession of the comi>any, as is also the old 
engine. On the introduction of the gravity 
system of water works the old engine was hiid 
aside and two handsome hose carts ]iurcluised and 
the company was reorganized and iucoriiorated 
July lith ]S.S.") retaining tlie old name. At the 
present time it has a memliership of So men. 
The oflicei's at the present time ai'e : Chief, W. 



Frances David has acceptably filled the office of 
|>re.sident. The club has a membership of twenty- 
five members whose names a])pear as follows: — 
Mrs. .Fennie .\lvnr(l. Mis. l^uella Hutls, Mrs. 
(ienette Carrier, Mrs. Mary Cartter, Mrs. Cornelia 
Carttcr, Mrs. Frances Diivid. .Mrs. (irace Dutcher, 
Mrs. Fanny Fox, Mrs. Louise (tillette, Mrs. Cora 
Hakes, Mrs. Margaret Harris, Mrs. Ella Hawks, 
Mrs. Emergene Isham, Mrs. Leah Merriam, Mrs. 
Kittie Mnrpliv, Mrs. Mavme Parker, Mrs. Aimedn 
Keilly, :\Irs, Mary L. Kichards, Mrs. Southall, 
Mrs. Lena Sweet, Mrs. .Vlice Vickery, Mrs. 
Harriet VanDoren, Mis. Mary Williams, Miss 
Lsabel \Villiam.s, Mrs. Nelle Yirang. The work 
taken u]) during the earlier years included Am- 
erican a\ithorsand Shakesjieare readings. In 1900 
the club was admitted to the Hume Education 
Department of the University of the State of New 
V(irk and in that yciir tookup the study of Holland 
with leadings from Shakespeare, each member 
re.sj>oniling to roll call witli a current event. This 
study ])ro\ed \ery interesting and instructive. 




Borrowed IMioto. THE FIHE DEPARTMENT OF PHfENIX-ENTERPRISE CO. NO. 1. 

Slanilintt— Tlidin Maxlicld. Cajit. Tup Row— E. .1. Hansel, Artlmr Kirby, Frank Buriiess, .loliii A. 
Booth, C. ('. Kiiislow. Eujreru' Eniinuns. E. .7. Vickery, Fri-il Vcrtl. Fli.yil TvirpcninjJT, AllM-r( Mcil. A\ illiam 
Warner, Hvriiiari McGann. Lower Row— Frcii Kctchiim; .VdcUiirt Wuldroni, ("liarlcs 8ixlniry, C. K. " 11- 
liains, Henry SlniU/., Edward Dykeman, E. It. N'clsoii, l,ewis llcnlc> , .lolin Kellar, E. R. Sweol, " m. 
Turner, W. S. Spaiildinir, Chief. 



S. Spaulding: ist a.sst. chief, Chas. Sixbury; 2nd 
asst. chief, Wm. Blake; foreman, 1). C. Heming- 
ton; 1st a.sst. foreman, E. S. Patchen; 2nd a8.st. 
foreman, F. (iilbert; .secretary, F. E. Hooker; 
treasurer, H. S. Van Wormer; iiresident, E. A. 
Taber; captain of drill comjiany, Thorn Maxtield. 

The Topics Club is the outgi-owtli of a lit(M-ary 
society orgaiiizad liy the Ladies' Aid Society of 
the Congregational church about the year 1.SH2. 
The following ladies were among the original 
members: — Mrs. E. ({. Hutchinson, Mrs. J. ^I. 
Williams, ^Irs. Julia Boothby, Mrs. G. M. 
Sweet, Mrs. Sarah Carrier-Wiggin, Mrs. Edmund 
Merry, Mrs. Milton Butts, Mrs. Fram^is David, 
Mrs. S. A. Brooks, !Mrs. Alfred Morgan, Mrs. 
Fred A. Cartter, Mrs. Caroline Brainerd, Miss 
Mary Flynn, Mrs. W. H. C'arrier. After awhile 
it merged into a "Chautacpia Circle" but was after- 
wards revived by ;\Irs. Louise Benson and re- 
organized wiih Mrs. J. M. Williams as President, 
who successfully conducted it until her death, 
which occurred in 1900. Since that time Mrs. 



In 1901-1902 American history was selected and 
great interest is taken in this subject also. This 
year one jjerson has charge of cuiTent events and 
the resi)onses at roll call are from some poet 
selected at the previous meeting. The club meets 
every Friday afternoon from three to five except- 
in the summer months when a vacation is taken, 
at whieli time a jiicnic is also planned for and 
enjoyed by all the members. In October the 
work is taken u)) with renewed zeal. Each mem- 
ber of the clul) acts as hostess, taking her turn in 
iilphabetical order. The membership is Umited 
to twenty-five, each member being elected by ballot; 
a majority of three fourtlis of the members present 
lieing required. An extremely friendly social 
feeling jirevails among the members and the club 
is regartled as an important means of home im- 
Iirovement and culture. The officers are:— Presi- 
dent, Jlrs. Frances David; Vice-President, Mrs. 
Alice Vickery; Secretary, Mrs. Emergene Isham; 
Treasurer, Mrs. Kittie Muq>hy; Critic, Mrs. 
Corneha Cartter; Ijilirarian, Mrs. Grace Dutcher. 



'GRIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PHCENIX. 



31 




Borrowfil Pht)ti). 
O. M. REILLV, PRESIDENT OF VILLAGE. 

Owen M. Reilly was born at Middlebm-g, 
Scliolmrie ccinutv, N. Y., March 15, 1857, of 
Irish parentage. When he was about one year 
olil his parents moved to the village of Sand Bank, 
Oswego county (now Altniar) where his father was 
engaged in the tanning business; and when he was 
eight years of age the family moved on to a farm 
about two miles south of that village. Here he 
worked in summer and attended the district 
school in the winter until seventeen years of age 
when he left school. In the spring of 1S77 he en- 
tered Pulaski Academy and was gi'aduated from 
there in the spring of 1S81. In the meantime he 
had commenced to teach school and in the fall of 
1881 he accepted a posi- 
tion as principal of the 
WiUia m s t o w n High 
school and taught there 
one year, when he re- 
signed his position and 
entered the law office of 
J. W. Shea, of Pulaski, 
where he remained for 
one year and then entered 
the law office of the late 
Don A. King, of Piiliuski. 
In October, 188i, he was 
admitted to the bar. In 
Deceml ler 188i he opened 
a law office in the village 
of Williamstown and at 
once engaged actively in 
the practice of his pro- 
fession, remaining there 
until July 1888 when he 
moved to the village of 
Phoenix where he has 
since resided. His practice 
extends to all the courts 
and he has a large jjrac- 
tice in both Oswego and 
Onondaga counties. His 
ambition has always been 
to succeed in his chosen 



profession and he has placed that object above all 
others. He is an indefatigable worker and is al- 
ways loyal to the cause he champions. In politics 
he has always been an uncompromising Democrat. 
He has attended almost every state convention of 
his party since 1879, on a great many occasions as 
a delegate. He has repeatedly declined nomina- 
tions tendered him by his party. In the fall of 
1900, after much urging, he was prevailed upon to 
accejjt a po.sition on the board of education of 
which he is still a member. In the si)ring of 1901 
without his knowledge or consent his party )ilaced 
him in nomination for president of the village, 
and although the village has about one hundred 
Republican majority and he was pitted against 
one of the strongest men in the Republican party, 
after one of the most exciting campaigns ever 
waged in the village he was elected by tifty-nine 
majority; renominated in the sjiring of 1902, and 
having to ojipose an equidly strong adversary and 
engage in an equally exciting campaign he was re- 
elected by ninety-seven majority the largest 
ever given a candidate in said village for that 
office. 

In 1885 Mr. Reilly married AlmedaR. House, of 
Parish, N. Y., also a school teacher and an old 
school mate of his. They have no children. 
They have a beautiful home on Cherry street. 
Both Mr. and Mrs. Reilly are very fond of books 
and he has one of the liest law libraries in Oswego 
county also an excellent private library. 

The First County Officers were commis- 
sioned by a council of appointment and were as 
foUows: First judge, Barnet Mooney; associate 
judges, Henry Williams, Smith Diinlap, Peter D. 
Hugunin, David Eastou and Edmund Hawkes; 
assistant justice, Daniel Hawkes, jr. ; siuTogate, 
Elias Brewster; county clerk, James Adams; 
sheriff, John S. Davis. 




Mrs. S. J. Moycr PUulo. O. M. KEILLYS RESIDENCE. 



:!•-' 



•(iKII'S- IIISI'OKICAL SOIVF.MH OF I'HCKMX. 




Hiiriowcil I'licifo. 

i!i:\\ r. M. iii;i;i II AM. 

St. Stephen's Catholic Church structure. 
•\vliile located on the west side of the river, is a 
PhoEuix society, the greatest part of its member- 
ship being residents of the village. It was origi- 
nally a mission attached to the Baldwinsville 
parish and in charge for many years of such well 
known priests as Fathers Samuel Mullev, M'illiam 
McCallian, James Smith, i'. F. Smith, "P. 15. Mc- 
Nulty, Kev. Mr. O'Keefe, G. S. Lynch and F. 
Fransus 

As far back as 1851 the Baldwinsville 
pastor rode over to West PIkpuIx where he 
was entertained by the Pendergast family 
who had la ely come to the country and 
were staunch Catholics, and at their farm 
home said mass to the members of the family 
which was a large one. Then, as Catholic 
families became more numeroiis in the 
neighborhood the priest occasionally crossed 
the river and held services in a hall in the 
village. .\niong the places which wei'e 
utilized as session rooms were the hall o\ er 
Fitzgerald's store and those in the Hutchin- 
son and H.anchett blocks. 

When Stephen I'cndergast died, in Feb- 
ruary, IST'.I, he left .•ffU..')!!!) to be used in the 
erection of a church besides a large plot of 
ground f(n- the site. The surviving mem- 
bers of his family, eight in number, con- 
tributed S'2.")0 aiiie<'c, making .'J'i.lMH) more; 
and with the .■J4,")()ll thus raised the (!atlio- 
lics were enabled to erect the handsome 
structure in which they now worsliiii at- 
tended regularly by a priest; It is a brick 
building with an ornamental tower entranec 
surmounted with the cust(uuary spire and 
cross luid with stone trimmings. The 
church was erecte<l with that promptness 
for which the I'endcrgiusts are noted in 
<loing their own business, being comjileted 
and ready for occupancy the summer fol- 
lowing their father's death. What was 
better, the congregation had a li<une that 



wiis free froru dclit. Tlie first service held in 
tlie building was the funeral senice of Mrs. 
Ann Pendergnst, the widow of Stephen Pen- 
dergast, whise death followed that of her husband 
inside of a yi'ar. Since tlie cliurc'i was built a 
pretty vestry has been erected ad.joiniug it. The 
building is now complete in all modern api)oint- 
nients with a congregation of about 150 and is in 
charge of Rev. Father P. H. IJeecham, whose 
charge a'so includes the Baldwinsville i)arish. 
Tlie Kevs. Father Bayard and KcUey are among 
the former past is who were here. Father Bee- 
cham has been ill charge about sixteen years and 
during that time he has iufused his i>arislioners 
with vigor and devotion to their <'hurch. 

Supervisors — Samuel ^b'rrv,lH:!!, ':i."); Andrus 
(lillicrt. l.s:!4; James B. Richardson, bSiW-T; 
I'atteu Parker, ISiK-l); Barzil Candee, lHlO-1; 
Jos(|,li K. Brown, ISfli; (tarret C. Sweet, 1843; 
Samuel Foot, 1844; William (longer, 1845-(i; 
William Hale, 1847-511; Ohver Breed, 1H51-4; Ira 
Betts, 1855; Seth \V. Alvord, lS5(i 7; John P. 
Rice, 1858-liO; Frederick D. Van Wagoner, 1859; 
Edmund Merry. 18lil-3, 'ti5-8; Charles W. Can- 
dee, 18';4; Mosc"-s Melviii, 18li!); John C. liutchin- 
.son, 1870-1; Hiram Fox, 1872-5, '79; William 
Patrick, 1870-8; Burton Belts, 1880; A. E. Ru.ss. 
1881-4; W. E. Sparrow, 18S5-0; John I). O'Brien, 
1887-91; Albert P. :\rerriani. 1892 0; F. L. Smith, 
ISOfi iiireseiit ineumbeiit). 

The Fire of July 2M. 1894. destroyed the 
Chicjuita ])aper mill, the saw mill of A. P. Hart. 
Kimliall's cider mill and the Smith ^lurgittroyd 
machine shop. 



u-s.<t. 




.Mis. S. .1. 



Miivrr riiotii. 
St. S'l'KI'IlKXS f.VrilnLir cmur 



•UKIP'S" H18TOKICAL SOUVENIR OF PHtENIX. 



33 



Phoenix Lod^e, No. 101, I. O. G. T. was 

orgaiii/.i'd Fell, lit, IIMIII. liy Mrs. ,T. C'. «toiie, iif 
Ohio, witli lourteeu charter memljers ami has since 
initiated one liundreil and eleven. Fuller's hall 
was secured where the meetings were held until 
the jilace was found too small to accomiuodate the 
members, and the hall in the Belts block was then 
engaged where on Feb. 14, 1901, the lodge took 
np its quarters and where the meetings are now- 
held each Thursday evening. 0. E. ("!andee has 
the honor of being the first ja'esiding officer and 
E. A. Tabcr the first secretary, offices which are 
now held by Donie Turner ami Bertha Smith 
(larrison. Last February a degree td'am, wliose 
l)icture appears in this bo<ik, was organized and it 
has been a great help in the initiation of candi- 
dates. It is the only Good Templars degree team 
in the county and at the last .session of the county 
lodge it gave an exJiibition of tbe floor work and 



Z. McCdvty, Pulaski, Jan. 1, 1811:. Tohn Carpen- 
ter, Oswego, Jan. 1. ISll; Jabez H. OilViert, Pu- 
laski, Jan. 1, 18i7; Philander Kathliun, Oswego, 
Jan. 1, 1851); Edwiu M. Hill, Pulaski, Jan. 1, 185S; 
Henry S. Conde, Hastings, Jan. 1, 18.56; Samuel 
R. Taylor, Oswego, Jan. 1, 1859; Edward N. 
Ralhbun, Oswego, ,Tan. 1, 18)2; Bernice L. Doane, 
Pulaski, Jan. 1, 1835; Mannister Worts, Oswego, 
.Ian. 1, 1858; .John .T. Stephens, Oswego town, 
.Tan. 1, 1871; Brainard Nelson, Oswego, Jan. 1, 
187i; Daniel E. Taylor, Granliy, .Tan. 1, 1877; 
Merrick Stowell, Oswego, Jan. 1, 1880; ,Tohn Gar- 
denier, Oswego, .Jan. 1, 188 i; John H. Oliphant, 
Oswego, Jan. 1, 188'5; Thomas M. Costello, Al- 
bion, Jan. 1, 1889; William J. Pentelow, Fulton, 
Jan. 1, 1892; E. E. Frost, Oswego, Jan. 1, 1895; 
.Tohn S. Parsons, Oswego, Jan. 1, 1898; Frank M. 
Breed, Phcenix, Jan. 1, 1901. 




norrdweci Cut. THE DEGltEE TEAM, 1>H(EN1X LODGE, Ni). 101. I. O. G. T. 

Tup Row (from rij^lif to It ft) — Lewi.-* TuriuT. Anna Johnson, Nellii> Ei-win, Lettie 
Laun(lr.\-, Jcnnif Hig-ji's, Lcnuu'l Itoss. Middle How— .Jessie Johnson, William Diapin, 
Helen Johnson, Eii^tne Emmons, Susie Ht ss, Cliarles Mandell. IJottom Kow — Stephen 
Dunn, Charles Candle, Jr., Frank Whitney, l{u3seU Pai-ker. 



W(m great applause. The lodge each week has a 
l)rogram both interesting and instructive in the 
great work of moral reform. Earl Hooker, whose 
death occurred Nov. 29, is the first one lost by 
death and he will be greatly missed in the lodge 
room wdiere he was ever ready to work for the 
cause of temperance. The meniliers of the Order 
attended the funeral in a body and conducted the 
services at the grave. 

County Clreks. — .Tames Adams (aiipoiuted), 
Oswego town, March 21. 1816; Josejjh Davis (ap- 
pointed), Oswego, March 19, 1818; Smith Dunlap, 
(ai)i>ointed), Sandy Creek, Feb. 19, 1821; Hiiain 
llubbell, Pulaski, term began .Tan. 1, 1828; T. S. 
:\loi-gan, Oswego, Jan. 1, LS2(); Thomas C. Baker, 
Pulaski, Jan. 1. 1829; Erie Poor, Oswego, Jan. 1, 
1882; Marinus W. Mathews, Pulaski, Jan. 1, 18:!,5; 
Daniel H. Marsh, Oswego, Jan. 1, 18;iS; Andrew 



County Treasurers.— Peter Pratt, Mexico, 
1816; Eli,as Brewster, Mexico, 1820; Avery Skin- 
ner, Mexico, 1827; Robert A. Stitt, 1839; Stan- 
Clark, 1811); Hiram Walker, ISKS; Samuel H. 
Stone, Mexico, 1819; Henry O. Peck, Mexico, 
1855; Luther H. Conklin, Mexico, 1858; John 
Dowdle, Oswego, 1879; George Goodier, Oswego, 
1882 (died in office in 1886, the first year after his 
re-election); E. Eugene Mclvinstry, Oswego, (ap- 
pointed I>y the supervisors in (xoodier's place) 
February, '^1886; Thomas Moore, Oswego, 1886, 
re-elected 1889 and again every term since. 

The First Tavern in the vilhige of Phcenix 
was that of Simeon S. Chajjiu, who in 1822 j)ur- 
chased the log house of Aaron Paddock and in 
1825 erected a log addition and opened what be- 
came i)0])ularly known as the "Double Log House 
Tavern." 



34 



'QlUr'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF I'HOiMX. 




were twins. Tlie former iiuiiTied 
('oiistiiiico ]?. ('liapinim ami tlie 
iitlier Hnfus Duwiis wlio was a 
tunnel- at ^lexieo. In lK:i5 the 
farm was sold and the family 
moved to Mexico. In Mareli, 
lUiT, tlii'V moved to tlie farm of 
I'll) acres one-half mile east of 
Phienix, wliieli is still in the 
family, now heiiig owned liy a son 
of Mr. Candee, Charlfs E., who 
KoiimIii the ])lace of his fatlior 
twenty years af!o. The letter is in 
pes tliat the plaee which has 



Did Pliiiliis. 

CllAUI.E; 



ANTOINETTK KH.^NCKXE ClIKKV 
WlLSn.N r.WUKK. .\N\ 



EH. 



th 



Charles Wilson Candee. now in his Si 
year, was born Sept. 11), 1817. in the town ot \'ol- 
uey, on the farm which his father, Barzil Caiilee, 
then owned and oecnjiied, 1 1 miles north of 
(iilbert's Mills. The family came from Litch- 
field, Ct., in the jireceding sjiring, drivin;;: a 
yoke of oxen with a single horse hitched in 
tlie lead, all of the way. Snow was on the 
ground and they travelle<l witli a sleigh. The 
vearliefore, in the spring of ]Sl(i, IJarzil Candee 
liad come to this section prospecting, and 
being ])leased with the country had iiiirchased 
the land upon which he made a home for his 
family — a farm of KiO 
acres covered with vir- 
gin forests and afterwards 
tilled to the highest .state 
of cultivation. Then he 
returned east and married 
lliildah Wilson, bringing 
her back to theiiew home 
where she at first found a 
domicile in a log house 
situated in a clearing of 
only five acres. Her 
sister married Jndge 
Stoddard, who becaiiii> 
a pioneer settler in the 
town of Camden, Oneida 
Co., and was afterwards 
a distinguished man. 
Seven cliildren were born 
to them, besides Clinrles 
W. One of them, (iay 
Candee, lives in (iranby 
«nd the other, Augusta. 
the widow of Henry 
H. (Jilbert, resides in 
Phoenix. The three are 
ail that are living. The 
ohlest sister, Julia, mar- 
ried Charles S. Sweet. 
Artinicia and .\rtaminta 



l)eeii only five or six years out of 
the family since ]S:iT. .shall pass 
down to future generations. 

Cliarles \V. Camlee divided his 
cliildliood days lietween working 
on till' farm and attend ng the 
disti ct school. On Feb. :i, IK47, 
he married Ann H. Marsli of 
Whitesboro. X. Y.,and in ISld he 
bougiit ihe farm his father had 
owned near Ph(eiiix. The latter 
died in August, lSt)2, 71 years old, 
and liis wife in Dec. 1.S77, S4 years 
old. In ISll and 'i- Charles W. was in the grocery 
business in Phitmix with Orange Chappel, their 
store !■ landing cm the site of the Howard house. 
His tir.st wife died Oct. 2!t. IS'.Ci. and on Dec. Ml, 
ISIKiMr. ('audee married !\Irs. .\ntoinette Fraucene 
Cheever, the daughter of Allen Hicks of Seneca 
Falls. When Mr. Candee sold the farm to his son 
he moved into the vdlage, and built the house in 
■which he now resides, his ])urcliase containing 
forty acres which he had surveyed and largely cut 
up into village lots, opening Bridge street through 
from Barnes to Lock street, and erecting addi- 
tional dwellings on Bridge and Lock streets. i\Ir. 




.Mis, 



Miiyer. I'IidIo. C. W. ( AMIEES KESI I lENCE. 



'GRIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PHCENIX. 



35 



Canclee served as supervisor in 1864 and has also 
served as commissioner of highways and poor- 
master. He was one of the iucorjioi-ators of the 
Oswego and Onondaga Insurance Co., and for 
many years has ])een an active member of the 
Congregational church, of which he is the oldest 
deacon now living, having been such since 1854. 
Diiriug the war Mr. Candee was chairman of the 
town committee to liU the town quota requii-ed 
binder several calls of the president for troops, of 
which D. T>. McKoon and Edmund Merry were 
members. He was also called to sit with Judge 
Tyler at Oswego to enforce the drafts of 18(>i, 
which to him, as to all good union men, was a 
trying time. The children by his first wife are 
Mary (Mrs. J. W. Loomis) of Phoenix, who was 
married in 1873, Charles E., who married Eliza- 
beth Boli in 1881 and Huldah (deceased) who 



Historic Earhtworks. — Remains of old earth- 
works which are not definitely accounted for in 
history were once scattered along both shores of 
the Oswego river for two or three miles below Os- 
wego Falls. They generally consisted of embank- 
ments with ditches, and many of them were over- 
gi'owu with large timl)er. At the jjresent time 
there is scarcely a trace of these works left. Op- 
posite the city of Fulton, or rather on land now- 
included within its limits, standing on the east 
bank of the river, was an old fort, traces of which 
were jilainly discernable fifty years ago. This 
fort was built in August, 1758, by Col. Bradstreet 
to art'ord protection against attacks while carrying 
around the rapids at that place, then known to all 
parties traveling between Albany and the western 
frontiers as the Great Carrying Place. During 
the war of 1812 this fort was made a dejiot for 




Taken liy W. E. Spari-ow, 1872. (See othrr groups old settlers pases 13 and 37.) 

EAKLY SETTLEKS IN FRONT (IF ED\V.\KD CATHCART'S STOKE. 
1, Andrew Frolk-k, 3, Ed. MeCarthv, .3. "niil)" Davidson. l)iiloher fur Ed. Hansel, i. .lolm Darling, .=), Selic Wilson, 
li. Will Sirrett, 7, Charles Ikcker, 8. Alexander Moj er. fl, "Stub" Drury, Kl. Dr. A. P. Haniill, 11, (shadowy) 12, Win. 

Grey, cheese maker, 18, — , 14, Charles Jackson, l.'i, , lli, Edward Cathcart. the storekeeper, 17, 

IH, , IM. , 20, Pat Murphy, 31, John Dodsre, 22, , 2.3, Charles Hector, 24, .iim Elms, 35, 

Frank Richmond. 3ii, A. Rice, 37, Will Warner, (now in the West) 38, Alfred Carter, 39, Avery Winn, 30, Wm. Lapoint, 
31, . , 33, (shadowy). 



married Fred W. Lyons in 1879 and lived in Jer- 
sey City until her death. 

The Reminiscences of Charles W. Candee 

are interesting as relating to the period when the 
chief ])roduct of the farms along the Oneida and 
Seneca rivers was wood which was carried to Salt 
Point (Salina) on crafts that plied on those streams. 
The hard wood, chiefly hemlock, beech and maple, 
was required for making salt. The farmers miles 
away from the rivers leased such frontage as they 
needed where they could cord up their wood as 
convenient as p()ssil)le for loading on the boats. 
The winter season was occupied m getting their 
wood to the river, where it was piled uji usually 
IC) feet high and sometimes in as many as twenty 
tiers. The wood brought from $1 to $'i a cord at 
Silina. Several farms were cleared with consider- 
able profit to their owners. 



supplies intended for Oswego and Sacketts Har- 
lior. In 1828 the Oswego canal was completed 
and that channel cut off a pai t of the old fort, but 
for more than forty years afterwards the remainder 
although plowed over, was in a fair state of ])re- 
servation. Fifty rods below this fort was a line 
of works, semi-circular in shape which was suiJ- 
posed to have been of aboriginal origin. Across 
the river was an elevation long known ii-s Bone 
Hill, in which large quantities of human bones 
were found. 

Four miles down the river from Ph mix, in the 
town of Grauby, were found two distinct earth- 
works each of which enek sed id)out two acres. 
They formed nearly a complete circle, a trifle 
elongated but laid out with regtikrit,y Large oak, 
maple, ])iiie and other trees covered the site of 
these curious specimens of rude engineering. 
Historians say that the time of their construction 
is far back of the jieriod Inown to men of today. 



3<) 



•(UUl'.S" HI!ST(>KU'AI> SOUVENm OF I'lKENlX. 



The Epworth League of the M. £. cliurcli 
was ort,'iiiiizt'(l about 12 years iigo. Our Cbiiiiter 
iiuiiil)er is KtT'.t. We have ii iiieiiiliershi)) of HK, 
(it) lienig ju'tive mid 'I'l nssociate members. The 
reguhir devotioiiiil nieetin^is are held each Habliatli 
one hour before the prem-hiiig service and are 
usually well attended. The regular business meel- 
ing of the League i.s held the second Tuesday 
evening of eiv.^h month. The elei^tiou of ollicers 
occurs in March and September. The Ijea<;ue is 
a great power in the church, assisting tiiianciallv 
as well as spiritually. Our present cabinet is; 
President, E. l\. Spencer; 1st vice president, Mrs. 
K. I>. Latham; '2nd vice president, Frances Ash; 
:ird vice i)residenf, Lenora l)ut<-her; -Ith vice 
president, Mrs. W. I). Thompson; secretary, C'ar- 
i-ie Denton; treasurer. Earl Spencer. 



Doyle, Oswego, Jan. 1, lK7i); Heury H. Lyman. 
I'uloHki, .Tan. 1, 1878; Frank .S. Low, Pulaski, .Jan. 
1, ]H7(>;.T. Lyman Bulk ley, Sandy Creek, Jan. 1, 
1H7!>; Edwin L. Hnnliiigton, Me.vico, .Tan VJ, IHSJ; 
.Alfred N. Headle, Pulaski, .Ian 1. IKH'i; .Tohn Van 
liurcM. New Haven. .Ian. 1. IS.SS; .\nios .Vllpoit, 
Seriba, .Ian. 1, bs.ll; Wilbur II. S. Heck, William - 
town, .Tan. 1, IM.H; Wm II. l^io-i, Scriba, .(an. 1, 
l«H7; Albert Warrm, .la'i. 1. litO). 

State Senators from ( )swcj.'() county —.^Ivin 
Brousou, 1823-i, '30-3; Avery Skinner, Me.xic'>, 
bS38-il; Enoch B. Talcott, Oswego, lHt->-t) (his 
t(rm was cut short by an amendment to the con- 
.slitution); Thonuis H. Bond, Oswego, 1848-'.); 
Moses P. Hatch, Oswego, 18")1 ; .Tames Piatt, Os- 
wego, lHJ2-;i; M. Lindley Lee, Fulton, IH,")()-7; 
Cheney Ames, Osivego, l.s')8 il; 'n4-"); .\ndrew S. 
Wanie'r, Pulaski, l.s:;(l-I: Richard K. Saiiford. 







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THE EPWottTH LEAGfE, M. E. rHfRCH. 

2ti. K. ]{. Spi'TuMT. Prr.<i(iriit; 9, .Miss May .-\sh. 'M Viec-l*ri»sidcnt: -7. Miss l-raofa liiitclici'. 'M \'ice- 
PresicliiU: IS. .Mjs. \V. II. 'I'liuniiison. 4th Viii-ripsidcnt: .'). Cairii- Dcritiin. .•^i cn-tarv; :.'."i. Hev. H. S. 
Soutliiill, 1, Cliarlcs Scinr, ;.'. MisB llcllc Viclicry. :!, Eilicl Itiitt.s, 4. .Aaron .loins, ti, lOihia Walk jr. 7, Eva 
S]>encrr. s. iHi\c \'ifkcry. HI. Earl Spencer. 11. Kdn.a Thompson. IL'. Satie Huntley. l:s. Klla Spencer. 14. 
Earnest <iulli[)li. l.'>. Ida Fi-a/.ee. Ifi. Currie Clark. 17. Willie .h-nninirs. in. .Mrs."T. Si\'ers. 'MK Fiank 
I'ottir. :.'!. Mrs. Potter. ;;;.', .Mrs. E. ('. Spencer, L":). Mrs. (iarrison. '.'t, .Mrs. 11. S. Snnthall. L'.s, .lennle 
Miller, ;.1), Dakley lluiilh'y. :ill, Kittie Hooki'r, :il. Eilua Spencer. :e. .Mrs. .1. I!. Ilnntley. :«). Mrs. V. W. 



Sheriffs. — .Tohn S. Davis (a])i)ointed), Puhuski, 
March 121. bsKS; I'eter Pratt (iippointed), Mexico, 
Feb. 4, 18-20; Orris Hart (api>oiuted). New Haven, 
Feb. l;^. 1821; elected from Oswego, .Tan. 1, 182:5; 
Asa Dudley, Oswego town, .Tan. 1. 182(!; Hastings 
Curtlss, Hastings, .Tan. 1, 182il; William Hale, Pu- 
laski, .Jan. 1, 18:52; .Tonathan Case, Fulton, .Tan. 1, 
1 8:5.5 ;.Tabez H. (Jilbert, Orwell, .Tan. 1, 18:58; Nor- 
man Rowe, New Haven, .Tan. 1, 1811 ; second term, 
.Tan. 1, 184'.t; Mariiius W. Matthews, Pulaski, .Tan. 
1, 1844; Horace .T. Carey, Oswego, ai>i)ointed to 
fill vacancy by death of ^latthews, Dec. 5, 1844; 
Alvui Liiwrence, Mexico, .Tan. 1, ]84l); (leorge W. 
Stillman, Orwell, .Tan. 1, 1852; Riifus Hawkins, 
Oswego, .Ian. 1, 18.")."); Charles .\. Perkins, Con - 
.stantia, Jan. 1, ]8.")8; Sidney ^I. Tucker. Pulaski, 
Jan. 1, 18(;l ; re-elected from Oswego, Jan. 1, 18()7; 
Kobert 1). (ii]li.s])ie, Richland, Jan. 1, ]8(;4;.Tames 



Fulton, 18(;2-:5; John J. Wolcott, Volney, lSli(;-7: 
AbnerC. :\r ittoon, Oswego, 18()8-9; William Fos- 
ter, Constantia. 1872-:!; Benjamin Doolittle, O.s- 
wego, 187l)-7; (ieorge B. Sloan. Oswego, I88r>-'!11; 
Nevada N. Stranahan, Fulton. 18!li; I'.Mll'. 

The Phoenix Purchase, lands liought of 
George Scriba. included all of that i)art of the 
town of Si'hr i p|)el lying idong the Oswego river, 
beginning abouta mile down the riverfrom Brandy 
brook and following the east sliore south to what 
is now the southern boundary of (he village of 
Phcpiiix; the boundary then followed a direct 
cotirse to the Oneida river striking the stream at 
the head of l)ig bend, and following it to the mouth 
(if I'eter Scdtt creek. Then it turned dtie north. 
Alexander Ph 1 tiix, the proprietor of this large 
grant, wiis never a resident, but he was well in- 



'GRIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PHCENIX. 



37 



formed of tlie advantages for water power at the 
present site of Plueuix, and there benim to utilize 
it by Imildiut; a sawmill. 

The Woman's Home Missionary Society 

of the M. E. church. — When future generations 
read the history of the Phueuix Auxiliary of the 
Woman's Home Missionary Society, the historian 
asks tbem to recognize the fact that the society 
was not yet a year old at the time this history was 
written. There is much praise dne Mrs. Bas.s.the 
ti Hinder of our auxiliary, for the address given 
.Tan. 12, 190.', in which she brought forth facts so 
vital that 60 women on that day responded to her 
appeal and organized. Since then the number 
has been increased to seventy. The first officers of 
the auxiliary were: President. Mrs. E. C. Spencer; 
1st vice president, Mrs. W. S. Wallace; 2nd vice 
president, Mrs. J. B. Huntley ; corresijonding sec - 
letary. Mrs. I). W. S. Hooker; recording secre- 
tary, Mrs. E. E. Crandall; treasurer, Mrs. W. D. 



ability as an elocutionist. Two of our officers 
found it necessary to resign and !Mrs. T. R. Siver 
was elected to till the office of recording secretary, 
made vacant by the resignation of Mrs. E. E. 
Cranilall. Miss Olive Vick ry was elected treas- 
urer in place of Mrs. W. f. Thompson. On 
account of the removal of Mrs. Hooker from 
Phcenix we were obliged to elect a new corres- 
ponding secretary and Mrs. .Tosej)li Smith was 
selected Our purjiose is to become a society so 
steadfast and patient, so simple and obedient, so 
grave and serious and so deeply and intensely re- 
ligious that the organization may be the medi- 
um through which His Messiige may be carried to 
every darkened heart in America. 

Oswego Forts. - The earliest English trading 
house at Oswego was constructed by Gov. Burnet 
in 1722 on the west side of the river. The Colon- 
ial Assembly in 172li granted M)) ])nunds to con- 
struct a fort which was reported completed Aug. 
1727. It was described as a stone Ijuilding 80 
feet square, the eastern face semi-circular in shape 




\V(i.\I.\XS HOME MISSION SdCllOTV, M. K. CIICKCII. 
Standiiig- it'rum Ifl't ro rijrlit) -Mrs. E. K. Fish, Mrs. C. \V. Huntley, Mrs. Julia Morton, Mrs. AV. D. 
Thompson. Mrs. O. Walker, Mrs. P. UwrlisB, Mrs. E. Paiker. Mrs. A. E. Rues, Mrs. H. S. Sonthiill. Mrs. 
C. J. Fuller. Mrs. Louisa Gutliph. Sittina-Mrs. J. Smith, Mrs. T. K. Siver, Mrs. T. ('. Tanjriut, Mrs. E. 
C. Spencer. Mrs. A. W. Hawks. Mrs. \V. S. Wallace, Miss Olive Vickery. 



Thomi)son. Thera is a legend that the primal 
laws of Spain were written in verse and framed 
ti,OOI) years before the beginning of time. Our 
laws were written in prose and in "time" and were 
framed by ^Irs. Hooker. Mrs. Thompson and 
Jlrs. Huntley. The society's chief aim and ob- 
ject is to render assistance, both material and 
spiritual, to the needy ones at home, and much 
assistance has baen rendered the poor and suffer- 
ing in our own town. On May 2(1, it was decided 
to corres]>ond with parties in either \ew York or 
Washington to ascertain wliat line of work our 
auxiliary might follow. As a result of this com- 
munication we were asked to help a clergyman 
and lii-i Wife who were working in a mission in 
Oklahoma, and a barrel was packed and sent to 
them. In June Mrs. Hand, of Ualdwinsville, gave 
an interesting talk on Home Missions and the pro- 
gram which was rendered by home talent we be- 
lieve is worthy of uo'e in this history. Each par- 
ticipant de.si'rves much praise, but especially so 
Mrs. Hooker, then our pastor's wife, who gave a ri'ad- 
ing from "The Wayside Inn," which proved her 



and the walls four feet thick, having port holes 
and provided with water from a deep w'ell. It 
stood on the crest of a knoll on the west side of 
the river, forty feet from the waters of the lake 
and Av.is reached from the south side by a flight of 
stone steps. An embankment and palisades sur- 
rounded it. The first garrison i-onsisted of a lieu- 
tenant and 25 men. 

(iovernor Shirley, reaching Oswego in 175o 
with ].")l)0 men including seveial Indians. contemj)- 
lated a descent on th- French at Niagara. After- 
wards, deciding to abandon the expedition and 
p'ace Osuego in better sha]ie for defense, he re- 
turned to Albany, leaving plans f r lhe construc- 
tion of new worlss. Th se consisted of two forts. 
( )ne, named Fort Ontario, was built on the east 
side of the river so as to command the other across 
tlie .stream. It was SOI) feet in circumferauce, 
made of logs 211 and iiO inches in diameter, and 
sumniiided by a ditch 11 feet wide and 10 feet 
dee]). Within the enclo-ure were a square log 
house and barracks for 3(10 men. The outside 
walls were 11 feet high, 100 yards from tlie lake, 



38 



'GRIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PHtENIX. 




l!.vck-l-,l'llll!c.. 



.1. M. WILLIAMS. 



and the fort wiis ciijiiiljle of mounting 16 cannon. 
Oswego New Fort was the name given to the 
second Ktructure that was built at this time. It 
stood on ths west side of the river on the hill 
afterwards crossed hy VauBuren street, near 
Sixth street, and was sul)se(iuently known as the 
old French fort. It was a S(juare of 170 feet with 
bastions and ramparts of earth and masonry 
which, besides the ])arai)et, was twenty feet thick 
and twelve feet high; surrounded by a ditch 
fourteen feet « ide and ten feet dee)}, anil mounted 
eight cannon. The barracks were oajjable of 
accommodating '2011 men. 

Clark, the historian, says that it is sui)i)o.si>d 
that there was another fort, all traces of which 
have been lost, and that it stood on the east side. 
He says that when in 1818 

the court liouse at East 
Oswego was erected ston(> 
was taken out of old 
Fort Ontario. One of 
them had a 1 )uil(h'r's name 
(Craunel) upon it. Be- 
sides, he says, E.W.Clark 
had an old map in which 
two forts are laid down 
on the east side of the 
river, 400 yards apart. 

The First Grist Mill 

in rhcL'uix (the old red 
mill) was erected for Al- 
exander riuenix by S W. 
Burke in 1829. He/.ekiah 
Barnes becair.e th(> owner 
in 1835. Sul).se(|uently it 
l)assed into other liiinds, 
viz: — Jol)C. Conger 18:!7. 
Wm. Conger (one half in- 
terest) 1811, Rensselaer 
Northrup (one-i|ua rte r 
interest) 1813, Holoiiion 
Judd (same iuterest}184J, Mis. ,■<. .). Mo.vcr. I'huu 



Oliver Breed (one-half interest) 1853, Josepli 
Breed (one-third) 1856, William Sprague (same) 
18."j8, Joseph (i. (tlass (Sprague's intere.st) 1861), 
Edwin r. Hopkins (J. Breed's interest) 1863, 
Charles J. Glass (Hojikins' interest) 18(;7. That 
year it was l)urned and reliuilt, and was for years 
iiffcrwiirils cducluc-teil liy ( U;i,ss, Breed \- (^o. 

Joshua Moody Williams, )iublisher of tin- 
I'hnenix Register, was born in the town of Clay, 
( )nondaga county, Sept. 22, 1836. He was tlie 
sou of Kinne Williams and Nancy Rice Williams. 
His early life was spent on his father's farm, the 
family removing to PhieuLX in 1810. After several 
years in the mercantile business in which he was 
associated with his uncles, J. Moody and John I'. 
Rice, he entered the ofHce of the PhcBnix Gazel,te 
which was imblislied by his l)rother, George E. 
Williams, imd there acipiired his knowledge of 
]irinting. In 185S Mr. Williams ])urchased the 
outfit of the defunct American Banner. I'luenix- 
like from the ashes of its predecessors, he estab- 
lished the Phtnix Reporter which, as the Phcenix 
Register, has withstood the usual vicissitudes of 
newsj)a]ier ventures and has grown steadily until 
it is now not only one of the oldest, btitoneof the 
most prosperous and best eijuijiped of country 
weeklies in (Jentral New York, [ndependent in 
politics, and outsjioken and fearless in all matters 
touching public welfare, for nearly half a century 
the Register has been a welcome visitor in the 
homes of its patrons. Its standard is an imjjartial 
and accurate report of current news and its fidelity 
to this aim has made its place secure among the 
citizens of the town. 

In 1806 his son, Mr. Charles K. Williams be- 
came associiiteil with his futhcr as partner. 

lu lS(i8 Mr. Williams assisted his brother, 
George E. WLllianis in e.stablishnig the Fulton 
Times which is now jmblished an<l is among the 
prominent |>ai>ers of the county. Mr. Williams is 
l)ublic .S])irited and has always been identilied w ith 
projects which promised imiirovement of town and 




.1. M. WILLI.VM.s UKSIDKM I- 



"GRIP'S" HISTORICAL, SOUVENm OF PHCENIX. 



39 



villiige. He is a .staunch Republican and has held 
the iniblic offices of president of the village and 
])ostmaster. Socially he is a member of CaUi- 
maclms Lodge 3(i9 of the Masonic fraternity, of 
the (V'utral City Lodge, Ancient Order of United 
WorUmeu and' of tlie Central City Commaudery 
Kinglits Templar. 

In l.S5,S he married Andersna Potts, daughter of 
Thomas Potts Esq. Jlr. Williams has four child- 
ren, Charles Kiniie, Mary Helen, Isabel N. Wil- 
liams and Mrs. Alexamler Oberlauder. 

Sunshine Society. —Tlie Pli ini.x lirani'b of 
the International Sunshine society was organized 
Jan. 11, 1902. For some time previous to this 
date the Epworth League of the Metliodist church 
felt the need of a society whieli would care for the 
young boys and girls who had outgrown the Jun- 
ior League but whom they failed to receive as 
Leaguers, .\fter some consi<leratiou a reception 
was given to all w'ho were not enlisted elsewhere. 



The society started with thirteen members; in 
four months it had twenty-two, and at the in-eseu* 
time thii-ty-one are enrolled. 

In the eleven months of its existence there have 
been ten regular and fourteen s])ecial meetings; 
have made seventy-five calls and .sold ten holders 
for an old lady at the Syracn.se "Home," who 
svipports herself in lhis way. Tlie society has 
pieced and given a quilt to a poor lady ninety-two 
years of age, made and sent beautiful .'crap-books 
tithe Orphanage and Children's Hosj.ital, made 
pretty coverlets for the hosi)Jtal beds, helped the 
Traveler's Aid with gifts of clothing and sent a 
box of papers, a barrel of clothing and t'hri^tmas 
boxes. It has distributed plants, ice cream, 
flowers and fruit to the sick and needy. In short, 
its motto, "Good Cheer," is amplified in the daily 
life of its members, who believe in "Passing On" 
the sunshine which comes to them from the one 
loving Father of all. Many a lonely heart will 
never cea.se to iliank God for the "vellow and 




THE ISINSHINK JII.'^SION li.VXD, M. E. CHUKCH. 

11, Olive Vickei-y. 8iipt.. 1. Ik'Hr Vlckery, :.', Clara .Ioiik.s •! .Aaron Jones, 4. KiHic HonkLT, .'>, Ethel 
liiittg. 6, Willie .lennin^s, 7, Lois Hawks, .^. (iraoe Jnlinsou, 9, Edna Thompson. 10. 8ailie Hiintle.v, 

12. F-.VH Spencer, 18, Frances Ash, 14. Edna Walker. ITi, Freda Kinnie, Iti. Carrie D.:nton,l". Florence 
Sauford. 



At this reception the pastor, Rev. 1). W. S. 
Ho(5ker, suggested that a Sunshine Society be 
formed as an auxiliary to the Lciigue. The result 
was that over half of those present joined tlie 
League at the following initiatory service. They 
elected their own officers and a ter fully organiz- 
ing they joined themselves to the International 
Sunshine Society and ever since have srrvcd a 
two fold mission. Loyal to home interests: true 
to their "Look Up and Lilt Up ' pledge, they 
have sent sunshine far anay into hearts and homes 
that were lonely and sad, poor and miserable. 
Their kindness has been felt by tlie imigrant 
gills landing on our shores, the po<u' Italians ot 
Pliiladil|ibia, the sailors away fiom the "home 
land," invalids, inmates of charitable insfitntiims; 
and on Christmas many a litt'e heart beats high 
with joy because of a box of beautifully dtess-e 1 
dolls going f I'om these little iieojile of Pluenix to 
the general office to aid the ■J(l,(l(Ml empty stocking 
fund. 



white" ( Sunshine colors) —yellow, tyi)ical of the 
golden sunshine and white, emblematic of i)urity. 

L'Hommedieu's Purchase, made in 1S07, in- 
cluded all of the land between the Oneid;i and Os. 
wego rivers extending along both streams to that 
of Alexander Phoenix which enclosed it within the 
junction of the two riveis. A map of the town of 
Schiteppel of l.S:)2 gives the farms in (his iiatent 
as follows; — W. Leslie, a small three-cornered 
piece in the north-eas-t corner; then to the south 
was that of G. M. Sweet, abutting the eastern 
boundary; next up the river were Kphriam Max- 
well. .Toseph Gilbert and James F. Simons, long 
strips reaching from the river to the opposite 
boundaiy; sliil farther up the river were A. P. 
Hart and .Son ers .Morehouse, the former skirting 
the river and the latter extending from river to 
river. ICno and Dii-fendorf had a small piece in 
the junction of the rivers and Samuel Delong and 



40 



'(11UI''.S" IIISI'OKICAI, SOIVKMK ( )r I'lKENIX. 




Borrowed Plioto. GOI'VEXErit >r. SWEET. 

MARY ANN (MILLIMAX; SWEET. 

Anins Hmitlpv ,Htri)>s :il)nttiiip; tlio Onciila river. 
Levi Carrier's land extended from the rivtr road 
to the nortliern liomuls. next soiitli of Simnious; 
and Cyrils .Tewett ahiitled the northern houndarv 
between Huntley and t'aniei-. 

Gouverneur Dlorris Sweet, today rijie in 
vigor, eighty yeiirs of age, exceeding hy ten the 
measure ordained by the scriptures — and living a 
more active life than many younger men, a peace- 
ful, rural existence snpjiorted by the tender com- 
panionship of his wife; (iouverneur Sweet, one of 
the best known of the public men in the history 
of Oswego county tliirty years ago, was born in 
the town of Clay, Onondaga county, N. Y., .\ug. 
7, 1822. The home which his father, Charles 
Newkirk Sweet, planted but three miles from 
Phienix was such as theavcM'age .\merican ])ioneer 
occupied — a lodsie in the wilderness. The Os- 
wego canal was then building and Charles N. was 
engaged first in the survey and finally in its com- 
pletion. Charles .S., his oldest son drove team on 
the construction. Th(>n the f.ither who had lo 
cated a jjrovision and 

s i]iply .store on tlu> bank 

of the canal at I'lurnix 

to serve "the canalers," 

was jilaced in charge of 

the operation of the loek 

at that ])lace, and his son 

for a time assisted him. 

A little later the elder 

Sweet moved his place of 

bii.siness into a structure 

standing where the How- 
ard liou.se is. After a 

few years he ivtircd; 

and it was in his (i:id 

yearthat hedied. Charles 

S. and later Addison 

Swe»'t, liecan e successful 

merchants in Ph<eiii\. 

The former ac(piired a 

ecmsiderable com|ielenie 

audit was lie that biiijt 
one of the earliest stores 



of the village, standing where Vickery's 
store is now and for years known as "the 
Sweet store." He also bought consider- 
al)le tracts of land. (Iouverneur Sweet 
lis a small boy tramjied about the couuti-y 
iM'ar home, at times going to seliool. ami 
then again assisting his father, running 
on errands or chasing after cows. He 
was 1() yearsold wlien his brother.( 'harles 
S. ])iit U|> the .store and went into busi- 
ness with .\dilisoii, and tor some years 
( iouverneur clerked for them; also dur- 
ing his early years attended the Mexico 
MiMdeiiiy. In 1S49 he bought Charles' 
Interest in the store and succeeded him 
a.s the partner of the younger lirother, 
.\ddisoli. .\fter live years both of tliem 
sold out to J. M. Kice. (iouverneur 
afterwards carried on a store in tlie old 
Washington block at the corner of Canal 
and I>ridge streets. He was also induced 
til engage in manufacturing staves and 
bimberaiid subseiiueutly had an intere.st 
in the water power on the river at this 
point. Always alert for business oj>por- 
tunities, and esjiecially active in forwarding such 
jirojects as impressed him with their practicability 
and jmblic advantage, Mr. Sweet was commonly 
consulted by those who had plans of any public na- 
ture. When, aft --r years of service the river bridge 
was condemned, ^[r. Sweet was one of the tir.st 
men to whom the public looked for a remedy. 
The sentiment of taxpayers in those days was for 
the cheapest public utility. A wooden bridge was 
popularly thought to bo good enough for anybody, 
and it reiiuired ta.'t and influence lo secure any- 
thing else. But Mr. Sweet, named as the com- 
missioner from Schrieppel. agreed with the others 
on an inm structure. Their influence first at Al- 
bany in getting an apju'opriation and then at home 
with the supervi.sor.s of Lysauder and Sehiueppel 
in securing consent to an extra allowance from 
tho.se towns for ei)in])leting the work as it shouhl 
be done, r»'sulted in securing the jiresent .sub- 
stantial iron structure. 

It was about the time he began liusiness with 
.\dclison that Mr. Sweet m.arried Mary Ann Milli- 
mmi. wild came from an old fanulv well known in 




Itcillnw.'.l I'llitr 



c; M. s« i-,:'.i' s If i;si di-.m k 



'GRIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PHtENIX. 



41 



the efisteni part of Uie state; their home being 
ui'ar Hoosac. X. Y. — a young lady relineil ami 
cilvicatt'd who hiis 1) >rue three children; Van 
Rensselaer Sweet, a travelhig salesnnn whose home 
is in T'luenix, Cerelle E., the widow uf Wni. Smith 
and a teacher in tlie jmhlic school of I'ho'nix. and 
Carroll Lincoln Sweet, a practicing physician of 
considerable skill both in medicine and surgery at 
lioisc City. Idaho, who fourteen years ago married 
Mary ])nnl):ir. of Grand Rapids. Alich., the cere- 
mony being performed at Salt Lake City. Van 
Rensselaer Liis live bright children: Milliman who 
is teaching at Akron, O., Earll who is in New 
Hami)shirc, Eva at school at Oberlin, O.. Martha 
in the Ph.enix high school and Carnill 1(1 years of 
age. 

Ai the home of her parents resides Mrs. Smith, 
licr daught'')- Winifred who is at Rochester fitting 
herself to teai'h domestic science and her son. 
Sunnier, a yotmg man of ability who stands high 
in his .school and is a favorite of his grandparents. 

Mr. Sweet was elected to llie state legislature 



in the suburbs of the village, the (dace forms a 
l)icture of rural scenery that is very attractive. 
Across the road are large barns, erected in 18(il. 
The place now comprises fifteen acres, in<'ludiug 
buililings of course. It was bought by the pre- 
sent owner in A[)ril, 18(50, and then had 38 acres. 
Chestnut street coming east from the village was 
extended through the land to open nj) the Pluenix 
Rural cemetery, the new burial groun<l which Mr. 
Sweet was largely instrumental in promoting and 
for which he furnished three or four acres of land. 
He was active in the construction of the public 
school of Ph enix and was a member of the first 
school board. 

The paternal grandfather of (Jouverne>U' Sweet, 
Dr Caleb Sweet, was a sui'geon in the 1st N. Y. 
regiment during the revolutionary war and was a 
meml)er of General Washington's statt' when the 
counuander's headipiarters were at Newburgh, 
N. Y. In 178^ he married Gerritje the daughter 
of Dr. Cour ul Newkirk a physician of Holland 
descent and at that time a resident of Ulster 




coriiT icrc'Lil) 

if. K. Latham. Cliiel' It-imffv; -"i. F, Uin'i^t's^, Kect)ril 

W. liHki-i-. :.'. VV. G. HoikMiheck. ;i. .luhn T. Wviiiit. 4. K 

11, .lohn Murph.v. Ir.'. Wrt Dakjr. 13, Erimst Gutlipli, 1 

two terms,188I, and '5, and in the performance of 
his dutie^i at Albany became well acquainted with 
the politicians and their methods; and also greatly 
\ er.sed in legislation. His co-1 (borers in the as- 
sembly were men who.se names were distinguished 
in state affairs in later years including Theodore 
Roosevelt, now presi<lent of the I'nited States and 
Francis Hendricks state snperintendant of insur- 
ance. Those were stti'riug times, when the lobby 
was in ab.solnte control of legislation and when 
stern infe2;rity was essential to the sifety of a 
member's honor. One of the most hiudly pro- 
claimed "jobs" of that day is said to havi' borne 
the name of " gigantic raih'oail corporation but 
;\Ir. Sweet with.stood the charms of the lobby and 
atlhe end of his public .service in .\lbiny came out 
clean hiuulcil. 

The home of Mr. Sweet, in a lovely part of the 
vO'age consists of the brick residence w Inch he 
built in ]8;s and which t.idav presents as good 
a[i])earaiu-e as the more mo.l.'i-n d\v<''liMgs. Stand- 
ing back fi'om the highway and surrounded by an 
orchard with vist.as of meadow, timber and garileiis. 



,Nii. 1071, 1 (). F. 

inji- Secretarv, 8, D. F. Ymin;:-. Court T*livsician; 1, 
. liursess. ti, John gicluiltz, T. C. Bdlitr. lU, H. Scluiltz, 
1, l{ ili^Tt Nelson. 15, Anderson Blciiim. 

county, N. Y. Maiy Newkirk, her sister mar- 
ried James Clinton, a brother of Gov. George 
Clinton and father of Hon. DeWitt (Uinton, and 
she was one of the group in the historical painting, 
"American Court" by Huntington. Dr. Caleb 
Sweet (m Dec 10, 1783, was made a member of 
the society of the Cincinnati. His parchment, 
certifying to this fact, and bearing the names of 
WH.shhigtMn and Gen. Kno.x, is in the ])o.sses.sion 
of his grandson Charles A. Sweet of Syracuse. 

Dr. Sweet through his services in the revolution 
bcc,:me possessed of extensive acres of virgin land 
in Herkimer, Ulster, Tompkins and Oiuiiidaga 
counties It is said that of all this land that 
which has passed down to his grandchildren con- 
sists only of the small tract ui the town of lyv.san- 
der repurchased by the youngest of his children. 
Caleb. Dr. Swtet died and was buried at Salis- 
b iry, Herkimer ccmniy. His widow, who sur- 
vived him .several years, died at the home of her 
daughter, .\nn Euo, in the town of C!lay. 

J heir children were ('ourad Newkirk born iu 



42 



•GUIP.S" HISTORICAL HOUVENIK Ol' PH(T2NIX. 




iiiilfK, Tittiiny's liiDdinf^ 35 miles. High dam 
M) miles, Oswego 3H miles. Feet above 
tiile: Svriieuse 400, Liveqiool 8(i8, Phcenix 
:i.")S, Fulton ii-l"), Tiffaiiv's limding 300, 
Okwi'Ki 243. 

Lyman Plaisted wius Ixnu in ISlS in 
the town of Clay, at that time a jiart of the 
town of Cicero, and came to Phcjenix in 
ls."i:t. He condvicted a hotel here for 
.several years, then established a cooperage 
which he carried on for twenty-one years. 
Since ISUil he has resided in the Borough 
of Hroolilyu, N. Y. 

Carolini' Miller, to whom Ijymiin Plaisted 
was niaii-ied in lS4it, was liorn in Ihilchefs 
i-outitv, N. v., -n ISil, and d'cil in I'hcenix 
ni ISiiil. 

Two of tiicir children reside in I'hienix, 
Mrs.Vrlhnr Frazee and Mr.Fdi on Plaisted. 
^frs. W. Hnestis at Syracuse. Mrs. James 
U. Dawson, Elizabeth Plaisted and Howard 
Plaisted at Xew York, and Willinni Plaisted 
at Butl'alo are the other cljildren living. 



Old TiKilos. 



I.Y.M AN IM..\lSTi;i). 



This 



structure 



CAUDLINE Mll.I.IUi l'l,.\ISTi;i). 
1785, John James Koussau 17.S7, (Charles Xewkirk 
1789, Elizabeth Jones 171)0, Benjamin Newkirk 
179:2, Sarah Ball 1795, Aim Xewkirk DeWitt 
1790 and (iarret Caleb 1798. 

Court Euclid, No. 1071, ludependeut Order 
Forresters, was organized, May 19, 1892, by Geo 
\Miitworth, state organizer, with the following 
charter members: E. J. Papixx, G. A. (iutliph, Dr. 
D. F. Young, Raymond E. Dibble, F. D. Burge.ss, 
W. J. Emigli, A. J. Wilson, Geo. Blake, Roberr, 
T. Nelson, (!has. Keller. The I. O. F. is one of 
the most substantial insurance comi)anies known, 
and during its ten years existence in Pliienix, it 
has not lost a member; 
due to the careful examin- 
ations of our physician, 
Ur. Young. The present 
officers are: R l>. La- 
tham, C. R. ; H. Shultz, 
V. C. R. ; F. 1). Burgess, 
R. See. and F. Sec. ; J. 
Keller, treasurer; E. .\. 
Gutliph, court dejuity; 
Dr. Young, physician; J. 
Shultz, P. C. P.; Fred 
Welch and Mart Allen. 
woodards; W. Hollenlack 
and Chas. Bnker.beadles. 

Distance from Syra- 
cuse on the Oswego 
canal are as follows: Sa- 
liua 2 miles, Liverpool 5 
miles. Mud Lock 7 miles, 
Cold Spring 8 miles, New- 
Bridge 13 miles, Three 
River Point 15 miles, 
Phoenix 17 miles, Sweet's 
Lock 20 miles, Ox ('reek 
23 jniles.Fulton 27 miles, 
Braddocks lva])ids :il 



The River Bridge. 

which crosses the river at Phienix was 
erected uiuler the following circumstances 
— related by Gouverneur Sweet: — •'James Frazee 
of Baldwiusville, John Pardee of Lysander aid 
myself were the commissioners. It was during 
the term of James Lascher, assemblyman from 
this county, that three or four of us went to 
Albany to see what we could do towards 
getting a bill through for a new bridge. Twi> 
)iine structures had rotted and it had been 
found necessary to build a good o' e. We secured 
the enactment of a law for the expenditure of 
,■$10,000 a quarter of which wa.s to be paid, each 
bv the two counties, of Onondaga and Oswego, 
and the two towns, of Lysander and Schroeppel. 
.\ffcr the excavation of the Seneca river at Jack's 




Mrs. S. .1. Mo.vci. I'liulii. \V. 11 lll..\ki;M.\.N .-< Hlv.si DK.NCI-; 



'GKIP'S" HISTORICAIi SOUVENIli OF PHCENIX. 



43 



reefs the annual floods had jjoured down upon us 
worse than ever and it had been necessary to raise 
the abutments of the old structure. It was found 
desirable to raise them between four and live feet 
for the new bridge. But to do all of that out of 
the amount appropriated was impossilile, if we 
were to have a durable structure. Howard Soule 
came to our relief. He wrote us that he had all 
the patterns for the Whijiple iron bridge and a 
foundry, and that for the appropriation we had 
secured he would give us an iron bridge and put 
in oak needle beams. It was finally agreed that 
he should go ahead and put in iron needle beams 
for a small additional sum which we arranged with 
the supervisors of our town to have audited when 
the bill was presented. I believe the extra cost 
was about .$1,200 for each town." 

Bridges.— On April 30, 1830, John Wall ob- 
tained the authority of the legislatvire to build a 
toll bridge across the Oswego river near Three 
Biver dam. On May 25, 183(5, the Schroeppel & 



placed V)y an iron structure. On April 6, 1869, 
the legislature named Gouverneur M. Sweet of 
Schrceppel and John Pardee and James Frazee of 
Lysander commissioners to rebuild the bridge at 
Phoenix. The contract was let to Howard Soule 
and the cost aggregated .fl8,490 one-fourth of 
which was borne each by the two towns and the 
two counties. 

Phoenix Business Men of '62. — Campbell 
& Co. grocers, P. T. Conger canal collector, E. B. 
Ferguson jeweler, Hart, Fish & Co. dry goods and 
groceries, Cashman & Spanenberger hardware, 
\V. H. Shumway lawyer. Chapman & Candee dry 
goods and groceries, James Pratt shoe store, 
Charles Tubbs restaurant, W. F. Dewitt barlier 
.shop, S. E. Shares harness, W. (Jould saloon, Ira 
(iould billiard saloon, E. C. Hutchinson dry 
goods and groceries, J. Durston meat market, A. 
P. Fish boot and shoe store, Ph(enix Reporter, 
Dr. A. P. Hamill, Wm. Ward grocer, T. Bm-dick 
saloon, John Daidy lumber, J. H. Dygert groc- 




i>iiii;nix grange. 

14, Julin OBrieii. \V. M.; i:!, Mis. H. S. Mutts. SciiL-tarv; 17, C. E. Hutoliinson, Treasurer; 11, Ira P. Uetts, 
Lecturer; lli, Elmer H. Hazanl, Assistant i<tewiinl; Iti, Mrs. M. O. Heso, Lady A^pistant Steward; 1. Mrs. E. 
Parker, -', C. D. Ash, 3. Mrs. E. H Hazard. 4. E. GritHn, 5, Mr."'. Phoebe Hetts, 6, W. H. Carrier, T, Mrs. E. Griffin, 
8, S. Penderyrast, 9. Elra..'r Benedict. 10, .1 ihii Iti.^liop, l."i, Charles E. He.-ss, 18, \V. S. Wallace, V. S., Ifl, Mrs. E. 
Benedict, 26, Mrs Charles E. Hess, -'1, Mrs. ('. 1). Asb. 22. Mrs. S. Pendergast, 23, Mrs. M. P. Dunn, 



Granby Bridge Co. was incorporated to build and 
maintain a toll bridge over the Oswego river at 
Hinmansville. On May 11, 1846, a commission 
was appointed to erect a free bridge across the Os- 
wego river and canal at Phoenix, on the site of 
Wall & Peek's bridge, to cost not more than 
$4,000 a part of which cost was to be borne by the 
town of Lysander. In Atig. 1858, a contract was 
let to Coburn & Hurst for .$7,835.63 to build a 
wooden bridge of eight spans at Phoenix, which 
was duly finished. In bS50-60 the bridge at 
HinmansvOle was rebuilt by the towns of Schroep- 
pel and (iranby. On May 26, IStili, Amasa P. 
Hart of Schr eppel and Mason Rice of Clay were 
appointed commissioners to rebuild Schneppers 
bridge ovei' the Oneida river above Three River 
Point at a cost not exceeding S7,.')0(l of which the 
two counties and the towns of Schneppel and 
Clay were each to bear one-fourth of the exiiense. 
This was provided with a di'aw which is stUl main- 
taine<l bv the state. This bridge has lieeii re- 



eries, M. Waudell groceries, P. Duket shoes, (>• 
M. Sweet & Co. dry goods and groceries, S. W. 
Alvord harness, B. Conger books and drugs. Dr. 
S. Avery, W. M. Avery jeweler, David & Names 
law, U. \V. Weeden law, A. Morton law, E. Ack- 
ron tailor, N. J. Miller daguerreaii artist, S. Merry 
hardware, R. Sturgcss saw mill. Breed, Glass k 
Co. millers. Breed k Merry millers, E. F. Gould 
stave and heading mill, D. Hn1)bard tannery, A. 
P. Hart sawmUl. 

The Railroads of the County. — The Oswe- 
go it Utica R.aih-oad Company was chartered. May 
13, 1836, but it did nothing for several year.s. On 
April -Id, 1859, the O.-iwego & Syracuse RR. Co. 
was incorporated, the road being completed in 
October, 1848. The Rome A- Watertnwu Railro d 
Comi)any was chartered in 18.i2. Work was be- 
gun at Rome in Novemlier, 1848, and in May, 
1851, the road was constructed as far as Pierre- 
pont Manor. The Oswego & Rome Railroad 
Company constructed a road from Oswego to 



44 



•GRirS" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF IMKENIX. 



Kichlund station via PuLihki and Mexico in the 
fall of 18(i."). The Oswego Miilliiiiil Railroad Com- 
l)any was iiicoiponited Jan. 11, IXiK. The road, 
extfudiu}; from Oswego to Jersey City, a distance 
of 32.") miles, w'lus completed in 1H72. Tt is now 
known as the Xew York, Ontario .t Western rail- 
road. The Syracnse Xortliern Railroad Company 
was chartered in 1870 and on the IStli of May in 
the same year constrnetiou was liegnn. The road 
was o)ieued, Nov. it, ISTI. II is now a p irt of the 
Rome, Watertown \' Ogdenslmrg .system, leaseil 
liy the .Mew York Central A.- Ilndson River Railroad 
Company, and extends from Syraense to Pnlaski, 
where it connects with the Oswego and Jlexico 
liranch of the same .system. The Lake Ontario 
Shore railroad also a ])art of that system, was con- 
stnicted ill ISTl.connectingOsweg.i with Lewiston 
on the Xiaj^ara river. A liranch road, extending 
from \Vi)odard,a station on the Syracnse Northern 
railroad to Fulfon and there connecting with the 
Xew Y(n-k, Ontario A- Western railroad, gives the 
New Y'ork Central entrance t > Oswego direct from 



The Junior Christian Endeavor i>f thi' Con- 
gn-gational chnridi was organi7,e<l May, IHltl, 
through the ellorts of Mrs. M. M. Carttei-, who 
was for several years the sniierintendent. Ihiriog 
the years many have gradnated iido the Y. 1'. S. 
C. K. and a l.so united with the church. Y'early, at 
Thaidi.sgiving tim<-, they di.strilmte baskets of 
jirovi ion to p x>r families. For several years they 
partly supported a colored girl m .\tlanta Univer- 
sity, 1 n<l later mouey was .sent to the school in 
^lackentosh, (la., in rememliriHice of which a 
room in that institnlio i was named Efterthem. 
Now their contrilmtions are sent through the reg- 
ular hoards with no choice of lields. A committee 
of five fr in the Y. P. S. C. E. sn]ieriiitend this 
wurk. Miss Lu<'v Rutis is chairman. The mem- 
licrship is .")(), of which 32 are active and 24 asso- 
ciate. The president is John Ray; secretary, 
Marion McCormick; treasurer, Jiernard Porter. 

Gen. James Burr Richardson one of the 




.\llnN.\l. CIUHCH. 

, r.n-iiii swcM-t. i; 



.ir.NKll! (Ultl.'^TI.V.N' KNDK.-VVOIi. (■nX(;KK(; 
1, ncrni'i-d Purler. ;.'. Sclli CiiilHrc, :i. .lallVrv Harris. 4. MurKari Hairi.-s. .">. ('ariill Swci-t. i;. .Iciliii Manniiijr. 7, 
,l()hn Rav.S, Asa ('.■uhIkc. '.), Miss Until ramlii'. III. Kustcr Mumt. 11. Alici- Wnnl. 1:.'. Curtis Harris. 18. Aiitii- 

uette Diitclu-r, 14. Ilcirris \V 1. l."i, .Miss I, my Uult.s. 16, Ifiitli Talior. IT, Miiriiiii Mi( Drtilii k. IS. .Maijorv 

linker. 19, DiiiiukI Williams, I'D. Kiiuiie Williams, :.'l, Alice DeUii.su, -""-', Tlievon Tabor, SI, Vivian .Meliann. 



Syracuse. The R., W. i- O. system w,as le.ised lo 
the New York Cent i-.-il in .Vlan'h, Is.ll. 

The Old Wooden Bridpe for which was suh- 
stitnled th<' present iron structure, was erected 
under an ajiprojiriation of ijfW.lHM) to be jiaid pro- 
portiontdely hy the counties of Oswego and On- 
ondaga and the towns of Lysander and Schnepiiel, 
which was authorijitd liy an act of the legislature 
on March 27, l.S')S. The actual cost of the bridge 
fi8 shown by a table of tignies written upon pajiers 
now in pos.se.ssion of Miss Lucy Halt, in the hand 
of her father, was .§8,0.55.20. The commissioners 
named in the act were Jjimes Tjittle of the town of 
Clay and William L. Fuller of Ijysander, Onon- 
daga county, and .An asti P. Hart of Schrrpiiel. 
Oswego county. Contract w-jis entered into be- 
tween the conimissioni rs and the cfintracters. 
James Cobiirn and (ieorge Hiir.st, of Syracuse, on 
August l;!, !8.')8. The contr.ict price wji's ,'i?7,8;!r).i;'i, 
tf) which wius added iis subsequent exjien.ses. iii- 
oluding iiiiy of cnmmi-sioneis, etc., ??211l.')7. 



early residents of Phcenix, was for more than 
seven years the Brigadier General in the 48th bri- 
gade, 18th division of infantiy, the militia of this 
state, with his headiiunrlers at I'hienix. A tran- 
scrijit of his resignation, dtited tit Ph i nix, March 
28, 18:^8, which is on tile tit Albany has been 
fnrnishid by a granddaughter, Ella L. Richardson 
at Albiiny. It sets forth that on account of poor 
health, and repre.senting "that he is not under ar- 
rest or returned to court martial for any deficiency 
lU' delinipiency, and that he litis delivered over all 
monies, books tind other projierty of the stido.' 
* • * "your petitioner resiieclfully silicits that 
you ((iov. Marcyi wiil be pletised to accejtt this 
his stiid resignation," etc. 

Gen. .lames Burr Richnrd.son is buried in the 
Phipiiix Rurid cemetery itnd his father. Dr. Samuel 
Richiirdson, a surgeon in the war of 1812 lies in 
the old cemetery at Iho^nix. The latter was 
)iidiiiinent in the )\fasonic frtitirnity and his de- 
cendaiits have an old Ma.'onic mcdid belonging to 
him which is over a hundred vcars did. 



'GRIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PHCENIX. 



45 



Joe Gould Post, No. 145, G. A. R. - On Jan. 

15, ISS). :it 11 iiicftiiiH- of lioD()nil)lj (liscburged 
Sdldiers iiud sailors, licld in the office of Capt. 
.liiiiie.s Biirne* in I'lueiiix, dipt. S. O. Howard 
was eleeteil <liiiiriiian and H. A. Brainiird secre- 
tary oi' ike preliminary organization, having in 
view the organiz.ntiou of a Post of tlie Grand Army 
of the Republic in Pliii^nx. It was then that an 
aiiplication was made for a clurter, which was 
gninled and an order iNSued lor a ii.iister of the 
Po.st On March 111, l.SSII, in piirsuaii e of an order 
of the l)e])Mrtiiient Coniiiiander, Comrade ('. A. 
Weaver of Syracuse (Post Lil],V|, as-isted by 
Comrade Fred Tallman, jn-oceeded t i muster in 
the Post to which was assigned the number, 145. 
The following comrades were enrolled: .Tames 
Barnes, James Spauldiug, Adelbert P. Hart, W. 
E. Sparrow, Henry A. ]5rainard, Pet^'r Lapoint, 
E, L. Arnold, Wm. W. Osborne, Ira Purges-, 
Chiis. W. Sherman, Oscar O. Howard, .1. A. Hen- 
ley, Milo Weller, George W. Howard, Austin 
Case, Rev. James Dean. James Barnes was made 



gart, 1883 and 188.5; W. E. Sparrow, 1884; George 
Heselton, 1886; H. L. Russ, 1887; John Carrier, 
1888, T. C. Taggart, 18Ki», '94; D. Stewart, 1890; 
W. S. Burks, 1891; George Henderson, 1892,'97, 
'98; ]). W. Nels-on, 181(3; J. A. CoviUe, 189y;W. 
W. Sinclair, 189G; J. Carrier, 18.(9; G. Heselton, 
]9(l((; W. E. Sparrow, 1901 ;Wm. Blakeman,1902. 

Three Rivers, what is now called Three River 
Point, in the early days of the country long be- 
fore the time of railroads, Wius an important ham- 
let with three groceries, an hotel, a blacksmith 
shoji, a potash reduction jilant, a boat yard and a 
dry dock. It was liete that boats passing through 
the Oswego canal bound east on the Erie, were 
taken in tow by small steamers or tugs, whicli 
took them through the Oucida river and lake and 
into the Erie at Higgmsville, where a tow of boats 
from the east was made up for tlie return journey. 
This was considerable of a cut-oti' from following 
the Oswego canal through to Syracuse. Along 
the shores of the Oneida rivtr farmers were eu- 




.liiK ciiri.u I'l).- 

1, A. n. Kc^ss. :.', T. l!Mrn:ir-.l. :i. litis I'iUhiT. 4. Clia 
Heiidcr-SDn. S. Hciir.v l.iinln ck. il. .Jo.scpli Tiitl< nhain, 
Tajiirilft, l;j, ,)c!*se.)iiiK'-S 14, .1. TSeaMians. !.'>, Martin Cli 
Decker, lil, I'etti- Lapoint, ai, \V. E. Sparrow, :.'l, I'luu- 

Post conimauder. ( )ne week later at the second 
meeting the name of Joe Gould was adojjted, m 
honor of Joseph Govald, the first soldier to be 
buried in Phnenix cemetery. At this meeting it 
was voted to secure rooms in the Belts block and 
to meet every Friday night. Later the jilace of 
meeting was changed to the Fitzgerald block and 
again back to the Betts block. F'inally, on May 
1.'), 18S9, they rented the rooms up stairs in the 
Fuller block and there the meetings are held on 
the s> cond and fourth Monday nights of each 
month. 

There have been mustered into Ih's Post one 
hundred and eighteen members, but at the pre.seut 
time there are only thirty -six names on imr roll. 
Some liave moved away ami taken tlieir transfer 
to other Posts, some have dropped out from other 
causes, and not a few have been "iiinstered out" 
by death. Since its organization the following 
vet*'rans have been elected and served as com- 
mander: James Barue.s, ISSI); James Dean, 1881; 
Adel 1". Hart and J. A. Carrier, 1882; T. C. Tag- 



-Ml. 14:.. (_;. A. u. 
rics Allen, .^, Isaac Vi-sclit-i' 
10. George Hcsselton. 11, 
icsebi-o. Hi, Flank H. Potti-r, 

ICS SpCIlULT. 



. II. .loliii riurlinii. 7, Gi'oryc 
Wiiiion \Villi:.ms, 1-', T. ('. 
17, 1 i^cai- l.awrencc. Is,James 



gaged in clearing tlieir land, and the timber cut 
up into cord wood was loaded onto boats for ship- 
ment to Salina where great quantities were con- 
sumed in boiling salt as well as for general fuel 
purposes. 

Three Rivers, the junction of the Seneca, Oneida 
and Oswego rivers, was the place where the boat- 
men with their barges, or running with jiackets, 
(MiTving products of the country and merchandise 
to the coiti'try store keepers, siojijied to get their 
b lats rejiaired and for refreshments. Here the 
boatmen, returned from their season's engage- 
ment, gathered nbout the tavern store in the long 
winter nights and discussed their experiences and 
jwospects, exchanged stories and engaged in idle 
banter. The hospitality of the inn was taxed t 1 
its utmost. Tlie hum of industry was lieanl 
where now during the winter there is almost a 
.solitude and during the summer the pleasure 
seeker or the occasional ti.shernian comprises all 
of the life of the place. Years ago the^e riveis 
abounded with salmon a ciminion article of diet 



40 



"GRIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF I'H(?:NIX. 



and siilinun fry was (iiic of tlir iittmctions iit the 
table of the liotel. Ijiirge (luantitics too wine 
shipped to Saliiiii which was then the most im- 
])ortjint ])oint on the Oswego canul. The greatest 
jirosperity at Tliive Rivers was prior to the con- 
struction of the canal, when the only means ol 
reaching Oswego with supplies from AlWany was 
by water coming tlirough Oneida lake from the 
Mohawk river. Batteaumeu witli their longjjoles 
or at the end of a towline, as occasion recpiiied, 
usually drew up at the landing where they were 
to exchange cargoes or secure supplies. The 
country was thinly iio))ulated and the news that 
filtered in from the outside world was generally 
obtained here from lioatmen coming through fmni 
the hikes in citlu )• direction. The few settlers 
rode or trudged thidugli the woods, sometimes 
coming from long distances in the interior to get 
the few necessaries which they reciuired and re- 
turn to spread among their neighliors the hdest 
items of intelligence they had gleaned at the 



Nov. 5, 1850; Horatio Seymour (Oneida), Nov. 2, 
■iH-,-2: Nov. 4, 18(52; Myron H. Clark (Ontario), 
Nov. 7, 1H54; John A. King (Queens), Nov. 4, 18,")f>; 
]''.<lwin 1). Morgan (New York), Nov. 2, 18,")8: 
Ueulien E. Fenton (Chautauqua), Nov. 8, 1804; 
.lolm T. HotVman (New York), Nov. 3, I8(lS;.Tohn 
\. Dix (New York), Nov. '>, 1872; Samuel .1. Til- 
den (Sew York), Nov. 3, 1874; Liicius Robinson 
(Chemung), Nov. 7, 187ti; .\lonzo H. ('ornell (New 
York), ^ov. 4, l(S79;(irover Cleveland* (Erie), Nov. 
7, 1882; David B.Hilh Chemung), Ijieut.-(iov., Jan. 
(i, 188.'); eltcted November, 1885 and reelected 
November 188S, Roswell P. Flower I New York), 
Nov. H. IMDI: Levi P. Morton (Dutchess), Nov. (I, 
18'.)4; Frank S. Black ( Hensselaer), Nov. H, ]8il(); 
Theodore Roosevelt (Queens), Nov. 8, 181)8; Ben- 
jamin li. Odell, jr., Nov. (!, 1900; Nov. 7, 1902. 

♦Only New Y'ork governor elected to and occu- 
l>ying the Presidentnd chair before the expiration 
of his term as govei-nor. 

Pbotosrrapby, Auld Lang Syne. — '■\Vhen 
you stop to consid-r the ditl'-rence between the 
wet and the dry jilate process," said Photographer 




THE OKIUINAI. WHIST CLUn. 
1, Dr. K. .1. Unuv. L'. Mrs. Uiorjiia Wiijriit. :i. Dr. K. A. Wiliiix. 4. Mis. Hiilph Diikir. .j. Ira I'. Itetts, 6. Dr. 
.1. K. Humill, 7. I'laiik I,. Smitli, 8, Mrs. U. A. Wileii.v, «. H. D. M. Decker, 10. Mrs. E. J. Drur.v 11. .Mrs. .1. E. 
Hanii)!. IL'. Mrs. .M . c. MurKittruviI, 13, M. C. Murgittroyd, 14, Mrs. F. L. Smith, l.i, Mrs. Ira P. Hetts. Hi. J. I. 
VaiiDori'ii, 1". MissSlfJIa Miirwittro.vil. 



river, (ireat ex])ectations for the future of that 
burgh were naturally entertained by those who 
thought only of the river i a\ngation. 

Governors of New York.- George Clinton 
(Ulster Co.), elected July 9, 1770; April, 1801; 
John Jay (New Y'ork), April, 179.5; Jlorgau Lewis 
(Dutchess), April, 1804; Daniel D. Tomi)kins 
(Richmond), .\pril, 1807; John Taylor Lieut, (iov. 
(Albany), March, 1817; DeWitt Clinton (New 
York), November. 1817; Nov. 8, 1824; Joseph C. 
Yates (Schenectiuly), Nov. fi, 1822; Nathaniel 
Pitcher, Lieut. Gov. (Washington), Fel). 11, 1828; 
Martin Van Bureu (('olumbia), Nov. 5, 1828; Euos 
T. Throop, Lieut.-(Jov. ((lavuga), March 12, 1829; 
William L. JIarcv (Reiis.selaer), Nov. 7, 18:52; 
William H. Seward (Cayuga), Nov. 7, 18:i8; Will- 
iam C. Bouck (Schoharie), Nov. 8, 1S12; Silas 
Wright (.St. Lawrence), Nov. 5. 18}4;Jolin Young 
(Livingston), Nov. :i, 181(;; Hamilton Fish, (New 
York), Nov. 7. 1818; Washington Hunt, (Niagara), 



W. V,. Sparrow, "you can apiireciate what giant 
strides )ihotograj)hy has taken in the pant few 
years. We formtrly took a clear ])late of glass 
and soaked it in lye, wa.shing thonaiglily in clear 
water. Then we jiassed it through diluted nitric 
acid, and after washing again, passed it through 
diluted ammonia and then again washed it. We 
])re]iared our own alVmmen, taking the white of 
an egg and beating it thoroughly in water by 
.shaking it with broken glass in a bottle. Then we 
flowed the plates by haial and placed them in a 
dust iiroof closet. When we were to make a sitting 
we took one of the j)lates from the closet and 
tlowed the albumenized side with eiillodion. The 
jilate was then placed in a solution of silvtr, rest- 
ing edge up. This gave us about threeipiarters 
of a minute and we hurried out and seated the 
subject and focused the instrument. Think of 
l>osing a sitter now days in three cpiarters of a 
nuuutel The public would not tolerate it. They 
would say the sitter had been slighted. But the 



■GRIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PHCENIX. 



47 



plate must not be permitted to stand in the silver 
any longer and when once taken out we had uo 
time to waste. A wet plate would dry in ten 
minutes, and when dry would be of no use. Some 
times it might be longer drying and other times 
shorter, according to the condition of the atmo- 
sphere. But you remember how the photographer 
in those days went to and from the dark room on 
a jump and how, after making the sitting, he de- 
veloped the negative while the siHer waited and 
then came out and showed it to the latter for his 
approval or disapproval. No proofs were then 
shown. The photograjjher held the negative 
against a dark back ground — his sleeve, the Hap 
of his coat or something else for the customer to 
look at. But I left the jilate in the sih>r bath. 
It was fished out with a dijiper and i>laced in an 
old fashioned jilate holder, which had a swing 
door. It was wet and dripping when it came from 
the silver and we always wet the edges and back 



their patrons to wait for a sunny day. Now, as 
good results can be obtained at one time as another. 
Then it was not a rule to save negatives. Plates 
having answered the jiurjiose once were washed 
clean with lye and used over again." 

The State Legislature consists of a senate 
with fifty members and an assembly with 150 
members. Both houses are required by the con- 
stitution to meet annually on the first Wednesday 
in January, the legislative term and political 
year to begin January 1. The .senators serve two 
years and the assemlilymen one year. No restric- 
tion is placed on the duration of the annual sessions. 
The annual salary of senators and assemblymen 
is the same, .fl,. 500, with an extra allowance of 
ten cents a mile going to and returning from the 
capital over "the most usual route" once during 
the session. No member of the legislature shall 
receive a civil appointment of any character, ex- 




CALLIMACHUS LODGE, NO. 3B9, F. & A. M. 
To)i Row (left to rigrlit):— Fred T. Beese, F. L. Smitt). .lames Doyle, T. N. Vischev, Willis Dutclier, David S. 
llurleiM'h. Hunter L. Betls, Bruce Derker, David Donaldson. Sec^tnd Row (same);— Albert Scblocow, Alfred 
Moi-j^an, Mortimer Stevens, Frederick L. H.'ikes, John Hay, William H. Jennin^i-s, Charles .T. Fuller, William 
.1 Foi-svth, Erastus C. Derrick, Herbert D. Woods. Tliiid Row:-,!. T. Jones, Charles F. Loomis, Richard 
l.alhan'i. H A. Dygert, D-a P. Betts, Hiram 1). Fox, IrvioK' S. Wood, John W, DyK'-rt, E. R. Sweet, Dr. E. J. 
Diory. Bottom Row:— Frank Spauldiliff. Wesley Mader, W. H. Warner, Richard Kellar. 



with bilbulous paper and allowed the plate to drain 
on a blotter. Still it dripped silver untd dry and 
as silver is not to be wasted we had a trough in 
the bottom of the ]ilate holder which caught the 
dripping which we emptied into a bottle. It was 
also necessary to develoi) quickly and this we did 
by flowing the plate in the hand instead of in a 
tray as is done now; that is holding up the plate 
by one corner and turning it about so as to du'ect 
the flow of the solution to all i)arts of the surface. 
This was not easily accpiired by an apprentice. 
The plate was dried liy artificial heat. In those 
days a sitting occupied from ten set'oiuls to three- 
quarters of a minute: now from one-quarter of a 
second to three or four .seconds, depending not 
only upon the light but lapou the color of the 
drapery to be taken. But ia those days a photo- 
grapher was not expected to make a sitting m very 
cloudy w'eather, and many photographers advi-sed 



cept that by an omission to embrace within the 
constitutional prohibition the words "from a state 
commission or department," a loop-hole has been 
left liy whii'h members of the legislature are 
almost constantly drawing salaries from the state 
for acting as "attorneys" for various state legisla- 
tive commissions or committees w-hich they, them- 
selves, caused to be created. The constitutional 
convention of 18;-)4 undoubtedly intended to 
lirohil)it any legislator from drawing two .salaries 
from the state. Holding a ciril or military office 
under the United States, or any office under a 
city government, within 100 days of election, 
disqualifies the party for election totlielegislatiu'e. 
A majority of either house constitutes a quorum 
for doing business, excejit on the final passage of 
bills carrying appropriations, creating debt or 
imposing a tax, when it is necessary for three- 
tifths to be present, and has the exclusive right to 



48 



•(iKlI''.S' IIISIOKICAI, SOUVENIR ol' I'lKKNIX. 



inalie its (i«ii rules ;iml he the jiulfie of the elec- 
tions, returns and (inalificiitions (if its own nu'ni- 
liers. Either house has the ri^lit toclose its ilnors 
apainst the iml)lic ami may at any time shut out 
the whole or any )>!irt of tlie jiress from getting 
the proeeeilings. Neither house em ailJDiiru for 
more than two days without t'le consent of the 
other. For any spee' li or deliale tlie niemUers 
sliaJl not be <iue8tione;l l>y any outsider; a;id all 
members are exempt from arrest. 

What Is It Worth? The growtli of a town 
ioereases jiroperty valuations, enlarges the eir- 
cumference of local trade and expands rental val- 
ues. It increases ehureli and school attendance. 
It provides more mouths to be fed, more bodies 
to be clothed, more ijeople to be amused. Com- 
petition between communitie.s is to-day as stirring 



Kieft, :\laicli-i.s, |i;;s; I'et-r ituyviMant, May 11, 
KilT; Kichard Nici!!-', Sc;it. S, KiU; Francis 
Lov.lace, Aug. 17, biiS; ('oui'Hs ICvertse, jr. 
Aug I'i, l(i73; Auth >iiy Colve. Sept. 111?:!: Ed- 
mond Andros, Nov. In. liiTl; ,\nthony Ui-ock- 
liolles, co:nmander-in cliic'. Nov. li>, 11177: Jan. 
1:!, lli.Hl; Sir l-'.dmouil .\ndi-ns, Knt., .\ug. 7, 
1()7.S: Aug. 11. liiss; 'I'liomas Dongan. Aug. li7, 
l()H;i; Francis Nicholson, lieutenant-governor, 
Oct. !l, KISS; Jacob I.eisler, June:!, KiS.t; Henrv 
Sloughter, *.\Iareli 111, Kiill; Kicliard Ingoldesby, 
oominander in eiiief, July '2>i, ]{\\)'i: lieutenant- 
governor, .Muv It, 17(111. lieutenant-governor. June 
1, 1701); IJenj'. Fh'tcher. Aug. ;ill, Hl'.l'i: Karl of 
BelloiMont. .\iiril 1:^. li'.ilS: July lii. 17(10: Jolin 
Naufnn.lieutenaut-governoi'.Ma.v 17.1(iil'.l: May I'.l. 
17(11, Col. \Vm. Smith. Col. Abraham Del'eyster 
and Col. Peter Schuyler, (administriit'irs of the 




Mrs. S. .1. Men IT, I'ln.l... 
THK DAM THAT Sll'l'IJES AX I .M.M l',.NS|-; WAI'Kli 1 

as between tradesmen. The latter displays his 
goods and advertises their values. Why may not 
the former? The Historical Souvenir is the show 
window for a community. The character of its 
public institutions, its scenery, its enterprises, 
aud its places of business and recreation displayed 
to the world in half tone engravings will do for 
tlie community wiiat the show window aud the 
local newspaper advertising columns does for the 
merchant. If every family in Pluenix has mailed 
one of these Souvenirs, who can doubt what the 
publicuti(m is worth to PlKcnix. 

Colonial Governors of New York. - .Vdrian 
Jcuis, term began Uy:): Cornelius J acob/.en.^Iay, 
KVi-l; Win. Verliul.st. Wlh; Pet«'r Minnit, May 4, 
llVK'y, Woviter Van Twiller, April lllrW; William 



'iiWElf, AM) KACTDKV mil. DISC. I'H(KNI.\' SHOHK. 

state government ou the death of the Earl of Bel- 
lomont and absence of the lieutenant-governor), 
May 5 to May 19, 1701: Lord (•ornbury, May 3, 
]70:i: Lord I;Ovelace, Dec. 18, 170.S: Peter Schuy- 
ler, president. May C. 170!!: May 2.">, 170!l: July 'Jl. 
171!l: (ierardus Meekman, president, .\pril 10. 
1710: H(.bert Hunter, June M, 1710: Wni. Burnet, 
Sept. 17, 1720; John ^lontgomerie. .\i)ril !.">, 17l!S; 
Kip Van Dam, president, July 1, I7:!l; Willia-u 
Co.sby, .\ug. 1, I7:!'2: (leorge ClarUe, president, 
^larch 10. ]7:)(;. lii'utenantgovennor. Oct. liO. 17:i(!: 
(ieorge Clinton, Seiil. 2. 174:5; Sir Danvers Os- 
biirne. Bart.. 0<-t. 10, 175:!; James 1 )eL!incey. lieu- 
tenant-governor. Oct. I'J. 17.">'r. lieutenant-gover- 
nor. June :!, 17.">7: Sir Charles Hardy. Knt. Sept. 
3, 17rw; Cad«allailer Colden, president, .\ug. 4, 



•CiKIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PHOENIX. 



49 




Borrowed riintos. 

S. PEN DE KG AST. MltS. A. E. PE.NDEKG AST. 

MRS. ELSIE YEOMAN'S. 

C. VEOMANS. W. STAFP\)liI). 

1760; lieutenant governor, Aug. 8, ITiU; lieuten- 
ant governor, Nov. 18, 17(31; lieutenant governor, 
June 28, 1763; lieutenant-governor, Sep^ 12, 1769; 
lieutenant-governor, April 7, 177i; Robert Monek- 
ton, Oct. 2(i, 1761; June 11, 17G2; Sir Henry 
Moore, Bart.. Nov. 13, 17(55; Eurl of Duuniore, 
Oct 19, 1770; William Tjyon, July 9, 1771; June 
28, 1775; James Roher son, (military governor 
during the war not recognized liy the state), March 
23, 1780; Andrew Elliott (acting military governor 
during the war), lieutenant-governor, Ajjril 17, 
1783; Peter Van Brugh Livingston, May 23, 1775. 
Pj ovincial Congress (rulers) — Nathaniel Wood 
hull, president pro tem, Aug. 28, 1775; Dec 6, 
1775; Abraham Yates, jr., pre-ident pro tem, Nov. 
2, 1776; president pro 
tem, Aug. 10, 1776; presi- 
dent pro tem, Aug. 28, 
1776; John Harding, pres- 
ident pro tem, Dec. 16, 
1775; Peter Livingston, 
Sept. 26, 1776; Abrahaui 
Ten Broeck, March 6, 
1777; Leonard Ganse- 
vooit, jiresident pro tem, 
April 18, 1777; Pierre 
Van Cortlandt, )>residei)t 
council safet.v, Mav 1-1, 
1777. 

*This governor's name is 
down to this day iistd as i\ 
term nf repnmeli in tl e 
sinjrle eonntv id' Setmliarie. 
To appl.v Ihi' term —.1 
Sloilfjhter." in tliat eonnl^ 
is rejiiirdtii as a li ni< ns 
insult. 

The First Child born 
in the village of Pluenix 
was Jane, the dauffhter 
of Aaron Paddock, whose 
birth occurred in 1820. 



Stephen Pendergast, the proprietor of the 
( )swego River Stock Farm — the sou of Stephen 
Peudergast who at the time of his death was 
among the largest farmers and one of the b. st 
known residents of the town of Ly.sander, was 
born in the county of Wexford, Ireland, Aug. 25, 
18-18. Three years later, in July, 1851, his par- 
ents came to this country, his father having 
bought a farm of his brother, Nicholas on the 
west side of the Oswego river, a mile aljove the 
Phoeidx bridge. Stejihen was next to the young- 
est of nine children, the others being Mrs. John 
Dtmong of Syracuse, Nicholas J., Patrick, Law- 
i-ence, Walter, Mary, James and John. All who 
are now living are Nicholas, Mrs. Demong, Patrick 
and Lawrence. Nicholas, the brother of Stephen, 
the elder, travelled in the United States consider- 
ably and liought land extensively. From the three 
or four hundred acres which Stephen purchastd 
of him the former gradually extended his hold- 
ings until at the time of his death, February, 1879, 
lie ownid an ext< nt of about twelve hundred 
acres. '1 his was cut up into farms and went to 
liis children, the Oswego River Stock Farm now 
owned l)y his son Stephen being one of them. 
The latter when a young 'can attended Seton Hall 
college in New Jers y and also took a business 
course in Syraetise. He then went into the Syra- 
cuse City Bank where he was employed for a 
while Acting under the advice of his father he 
returned to the firm to assi.st in looking after the 
cousid Table agri'-ultural interests that demanded 
att.jution from hiuisrlf and his lirothers. 

Thirty-five years ago Walter lirouglt to tlie 
farm the famous Hainbletonian, "Lysander, " the 
s'l-e of many distinguished horses. That was the 
beginning • f a Lmg line of thoronghln'eds which 
this f .rm jiroduced in later yenrs. While at jjres- 
eut there is not so much doing in the lireeding of 
horses on the place, !\1 r. Peudergast maintains a 
considerable stable of linely bred animals, as the 
strings wliich annually go fiMiu the farm to the 
fairs attest. What especially attracted piulilic at- 
tention here was the sile of the ]jair, Lysander 
Boy and Emma, to Willia-ii H. Vanderiiilt, the 




It 'iTi'wed I'lioio. 

OSWEGO IflVEK STOCK FARM, RESIDENCE OF 8. PE.VDERGAST. 



no 



'(iKII'S" HISTORICAL HOUVENUt OF PHCENIX. 



first nnmed alone costiiifi; him $10,000. Other of 
the famous horses from this farm were TiVsinidcr 
Wilkes anil Pilot which were sliipijeil toOermaiiv. 
At one time the three brothers John W., Walter 
and St(^pheu had a hundred tine-hred head 
which with their produce were shijiped all over 
the United States. One of the latest procured l)y 
Stephen PiMidergast is ^Fatchless a very lar^e 
English four year old which breeds for draft pur- 
poses. ])i<'tator, one of the present .stables is a 
fine, large horse which for jioints in breeding 
maintains the reputation of the inrni. Of late 
years Mr. Penderffast has gone more extensively 
nito raising iiotatoes and dairying, between forty 
and fifty cows being ke])t on the jilace. The ])otato 
crop is usu'illy very large. During one of the 



companying Mr. Pendergast and his family when 
they came to this country, Jlr. Ktallnid located 
in Syracuse whei-e foi- several years, uutU ISTO, he 
was emjfloyed in the hardware hon.se of JIe(!arthy 
X- Uedfield and the firms that succeeded them. 
.\Itliough in his It'ltli year Mr. Statlbrd is (piite 
active mentally and ])reserve8 more than the 
average giiiid health for one uf his years. He de- 
lights ni tisliing during the season and his success 
might well make the younger lishernien envious. 
For a couple of years he kept score iif his seasons' 
catclies and they averaged from l.KOO to 'J.i^OO 
fish of all kinds, each year. 

Capt. Calvin Yeomans for scinie years the 
captain ( f tug lioats that i)lied on the Oneida 
riv(>r. and later ])rominent as a boat builder at 




.UNIOlf El'Wdinil LKAGIE, M. E. (HrUCH. 
Top How (left to rii^ht)— Emma Vcrtun. I.lnyd Walker, Clara Davis, Mrs. Soiitlial. lilllian Davi.s, Howard 
Wood, Until Thompson. Harlow Fuller. Middle Row (same direction)— .luiie I..indsley, Marguerite GreirK, 
Ralph Vonnjf, (icrald (irejrjr, Llo.vd Jones, Ella Gnllipii, Anna Hurtfess. Hottoin How (same)— Carl Vonnif, 
Robert Vouiii?, Marie Mills, OwlKht Thompson, HcBsie Mickle, Lisle Itice. 



best seasons there were harvested and loaded on 
to the cars by him and his men four thousand 
bn.shels in twelve days. In 1880 new liarns were 
erected giving to the place the best stabHug and 
grainerv facilities. There are three sejiarate 
gi'oups of barn buildings all put iiji in the nio.st 
durable and attractive style and well supplied 
with water and other comforts. 

Mr. Peialergast was married to Alice, the 
daughter of Calvin ami KIsic VVarner Yeomans, 
Dec. 1, 1874,. Of their six children, five are liv- 
ing, viz: X. Walter, a grwluaAe vf the Syraeu.se 
Medi<'al college and a jiracticing physician in that 
city, Ste])hen C"., Henry J., Emma .\. and. TohnY. 

Walter Statlord, a brother-in-law of the elder 
Ste])hen Pendergast who is now living with his 
nephew, the younger Stephen, was liorn in the 
county of Wexford, Ireland, July 7, 181a. Ac- 



Phienix, was Ik mi at Coxsackie, Greene Co., 
N. Y., Feb. 11, 1820. When he was fourteen 
years old his parents, Joliii and Olive (Titus) 
Y'eomaiis, moved to a farm on the bank of the 
Oneida river in llie town of Schripppel, wliieh wa.s 
located between Schrceppi'l Bridge ai]d Caugh- 
denoy. C'alvin married Elsie H. WariiiM- of Clay 
in March, IS-f:!, and they liad thri'c children, Mr.s. 
-MiceE Pendergast of Pliieiiix and IJyroii Yeomans 
of Eineolii. Xeb., who are still living, and ^falisa 
who married Leonard J. Evans and died in Ne- 
braska. ;\Irs. Calvin Yeoman.s, who was born in 
the town of Van Hureii, :\ray 17, ISl!). was tlie 
daughter of Cyrus and Susan Hart Warner. Mr. 
Yeomans ran the tirst steamer towing canal boats 
between Tliive River Point ami Higginsville - the 
short route for boats pa.ssing through the ( )swego 
and Erie canals, lu 18(<0 he trailed the Oneida 



'GRIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PHCENIX. 



51 



river farm and located at Phoenix on the west side 
of the river. For some years he was a partner of 
Ira Betts in a boat yard. He was also one of the 
incorporators of the Phoenix hank. He was con- 
sidered something of a mining expert, having 
speculated in the Pennsylvania oil fields and iu 
mining operations. In 1874 he went west to ex- 
amine certain miningelaimsof the Colorado Silver 
Mining Co. , and >ipon his adverse report as to 
their value the company was guided in its subse- 
quent action reliitive to those claims. Mr. Yeo- 
mans died in 1.S98. 

High School Base Ball. — An athletic a.s.so- 
ciatiou was organized at the High school March, 
1899, and a baseball team was formed with George 
D. Withers as manager and captain. The first 
game was played Ai)ril 2'2, 1899, at Pendergast 



the history of the school. This season seven 
games were played the local boys winning all of 
them. On Ajjril 30 they defeated Pulaski High 
school at Parish by a score of 1 i-0, winning the 
county championship. On May 22 the local Iwys 
met and defeated the strong Syracuse High school 
by the score of 5-4 and by so doing placed them- 
selves among the strongest High school baseball 
teams in New York state. 

High School Athletes.— Phcenix High school 
has had many good athletes. Among the most 
Ijrominent who have defended the orange and 
black are the following: Arthur (Chick) Chapin, 
right end on the 1900 football team and jiitcher of 
the baseball team for four seasons; Cartter, right 
guard on the football team for three years and 
now with Colgate University; Frank Decker, 




WOMAN'S FOUErcN MISSIONARY SOCIETY, M. E. CHUUCH. 

1, Mrs. H. G. Vickorv, 2, Mrs. B. Parker, :i. Mrs. Walters, 4, Lindsla.v. 5, Mrs. C. .1. Fuller, li, Mrs. Win. 

Gutlipli, 7, Mi-8. Chas. Burleigh, s, Mrs. H. S. S')iitlial, !). Mrs. T. C. Tafifrert, 111, Mrs. H. Wandell, 11, Mrs. M.G. 
Rk-e, 1-", Mrs. A. W. Hawks, i:i, Mrs. Mcirton, 14, Mrs. Wallace, 1."), Earll Spencer, Hi, Lncy Camiibell,17, — Russ. 



Driving park against Oswego High school and the 
local lioys were defeated by the score of 22 to 7. 
The boys were not discouraged by this defeat and 
played through the season winning seven games 
and losing two. The season of 1899 gave the 
boys some much needed exjierience and when 
they began again in the spring of 1900 they jilayed 
like a team of veterans and succeeded in winning 
all but one of the games ])]ayed, being defeated 
by St. John's Academy in a 12 inning game. The 
team was fortunate in losing oidy one player 
when school closed and was able to jnit a team of 
experienced men on the diamond in 1901 and al- 
though they lost the same numljer of games that 
they did in 1900 they played stronger games and 
the only team who defeated them was the strong 
Syracuse High school team. When school closed 
the team lost two men, but their places were filled 
by good substitutes and when they opened the 
season of 1902 they hail the best baseball team in 



captain of the 1901 footliall team and left half 
back for three years, also left fielder on the base- 
ball team for three seasons; Chas. Walters, left 
guard on the football team for three years; B. T. 
Mason, short stop on the baseball team for four 
years — a fast intielder; Henry Pendergast, captain 
of the l)a.seball team for three years — a good third 
baseman and a fine batter; Walter Pendergast, 
first, baseman for three seasons — a heavy hitter; 
Charles Ralph, catcher on the baseball team for 
four years and center on the football team in 
1901 — a good back St. I]) and a fair batter; Harry 
Maider, right half back on the football team for 
two years, ftlay many nioi-e good athletes be de- 
veloped in the old school and may those colors 
that are dear to the hearts of all former students 
never lie disgraced. 

Tiie First School in the town of Schroeppel 
was opened in 181H at Three River Point, Horatio 
&veet being the schoolmaster. 



■GRIPH" HI«T()RICAL SOUVENIU 0¥ PHiENIX. 




■lAVKNTii'/rH ('l•;^••^l■R^■ whist ci.rit. 

Top Kow- E. T. Jellies, Mrs. ('. U. Vicki'iv, W. H. .h'lmintfs. Mr 
A. DvKeif. SiiiiTiiI How-Mrs. W. H. Jiniiinsrs. (). M. Heill.v. Mrs 
Fulk'r. Tliirii How-Mrs. n. M. Kiil.v, ('. 1). Vickn'.v. 

Phoenix High School Footba'l Team.— 

Wht'ii school o|)euecl in the fall ot IS^^ the atteu- 
tiou of the Ph I nix Hij^h school Athletic Associ- 
iition Wi»s turned to football and a team was 
orpcaiiized with ('has. (t. lialph, manager, and 
John F>resnaham, ca)itain. The team, althnnf^h 
winning hut one pime, developed some men that 
afterwards made a reputation for the school. The 
sea.son of I'.liMI found Phcpnix High seh.xil with 
some tine footliall material Among the men who 
reported for jiractice was Hanscom (quarter hack), 
who had placed the season before with Hoston 
Latin school. It was due largely to the tine 
manner in which he handjed the te.rn that it did 
such good woik. During 
the annual game with 
Fulton Hanscom kicked 
a goal from the thirtv- 
tive-yard line and won 
the game for the home 
team. This team was 
defeated only once during 
the season and then by 
the strong Syracuse High 
school team, score 22-2. 

When the men came 
out for practice in Se))- 
tember,]",)!)] , it was found 
that several of the old 
men wei-e absent -(Tni- 
jiin, I.e.; Hanscom, ([.b. ; 
Daun, c; Withers, 1. t.. 
611(1 Hiesnahani, f. b. It 
was hard work to till 
their jilaces but tlie men 
went at it with a will and 
under the leadership of 
Decker, their cii])taiii,the 
team niiule a very cred- 
itable showing, winning 
four of the five games 
phvyed, being defeatt'd by 



I'nllou, the first time in 
the history of the school, 
by the score of 1 1-."). 

When school opened 
in lltn2 it was found that 
the team would have to 
be made up of nearly all 
now men ax there were 
only two of the last year's 
team who reported for 
Jiractice. This condition 
made very hard work f<u- 
the captain, Joseph 
Maider, bnt he went at 
il with a determination 
!ind succeeded in develop- 
ing a very good team 
although the avenige 
Wright of the men was 
(pidy 1:!2 pounds. At the 
beginning of the seison, 
the honu' .school joine I 
till' ().-.wego Counti' 
Le.igue comiiosed of Ful- 
ton, Mexico and Phoenix 
High schools. The pen- 
nant, a silk banner, was 
won by Mexico, Fulton 
being second and Phoenix 
third. AltlKUigh the Pluenix team finished last it 
received more bent-tit than it w..uld if it had 
formed an independent .schedule, as everythin ;■ 
was run in a business like manner; and too mncli 
praise cannot be given to Prof, (ieoive E. Fil- 
luuiids of Fulton, who was the organizer of the 
Leasjue. 



1. ('. .J. Fuller. H. 
E. .l..IomP. (\.l. 



The Tallest Man in the town of Hchr eppel is 
(ieorge Deforest Henderson of Ph i nix whoisti feet 
C> inidies high and weighs 2iH pounds. Mr. Hen- 
derson is a veteran of the civil war and he apjiears 
in the group of Joe (iould iiost. of which he is m 
ex-commander, printed on page 4."). He w^as born 
in Syracuse Aug. 27. ISb'i and was IT years old 




iH Sl'Mnill, KOnT ll.M.I, li:.\.M. 

„. Ilaiiliui. lloiisl. it, llniil. Hiilpli. Mirr. 

Middle' Row (sHtnei — Mni ier. ('aet.. Kinslow, Kiiinions. Hallenbeek, 
Kow-Ha\\ks. Liirkin. Watson. Del.oii^ir. 



hk; 

op Kow (left to rliftit' 



•lotH'S 
>0(1lfC. 



Fuller. 
Rottoiii 



'GRIP'S" HISTORICAL, SOUVENIR OF PHCENIX. 



53 




]iiin-ow(_cl Piiiiti 



K. Y. ALLEX. 



wlien he enlisted, Aug. 9, 18l)2, serving three 
years to the day, being discharged Aug. 9, 186i). 
Participating in some of the bloodiest contests, 
he was at Antietam, Chaucellorsville, South 
^Mountain, second tight of Fredericks! )ui'gh 
(Mary's Heights), Gettysburgh, The Wilderness, 
Spottsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor, Win- 
chester, C'edar Creek, Waynesboro and Richmond 
(Petersburg!! campaign). Xotwithstunding his 
commanding stature, which one might supi)(ise 
would have l>een an easy mark for the enemy, lie 
was struck only once, then losing part of his foot 
l)ut not any of liis lieight; and he returned liome 
to sul)sequently liecome a resident of Pluenix 
where he lias served the community faithfully as 
constable, tlie position he now occupies and to 
wliich lie was elected several times — in 1877 for 
tliree years; in 189i, "9t), 
'98, 1900 and 1902. 

The Phoenix Press. 

— During tlie summer of 
1899 a stocli company was 
organized to pulilish The 
PluEnix Press, and tlie 
following officers elected : 
President, M. C. Mnr- 
gittroyd; vice president. 
A. D. Jlerry; secretary, 
E. C. Scott; treasnrer,F. 
M. Breed. The . om- 
pany is known as The 
Phnenix Publishing Com- 
pany. 

On July 27, ls9'.t. The 
Press made its first ap- 
pearance under the edi- 
torship of 13. R. Ketche- 
son,a well known Oswego 
county newspaper man. 
It grew in pojiular favnr 
at once. In July, I'.ll], 
a change occurred in the 
editorship of the same. 



Mr. H. H. Wallace, formerly with the INIexico 
Independent, assuming the chair made vacant 
by Mr. Ketjhfson. In November, 1902, the 
editorship jiassed from ilr. Wallace to George B. 
Hoyt. 

During the existence of The Press it has gained 
many admirers fhrouglicmt the county and is 
recognized as one of the connty j)a])ers. It is in 
an excelleut condition tiuancnally, its circulation 
steadily gains and the comjiany is determined to 
keeji it in its high standard. 

R. Y. Allen, the monument dealer, began busi- 
ness in the old Pli i nix Register building about 
1885, the year after he came to this village. Since 
then he has become one of the most active citizens 
of Phcenix and his liusiness has grown to that im- 
portance that practically, he has no competition 
in this section; and as the further evidence of his 
prosperity he at the time of this writing con- 
structed and occupied a Ijuildiiig in the 1 >est locality 
on the business street of the village which com- 
pares most favorably with the other structures in 
the village and which is a model of convenience, 
especially adapted for a monument manufacturer 
and seller. The Vmilding is a steel covered, 
story-and-a-half structure with galvanized steel 
front, and a platform for outside display of work 
having 1,401) square feet of surface. The entrance 
is of glass and steel Hanked with large .show 
windows, and the office, finished in hard maple, 
extends across the front ])art with the work 
rooms in the rear. Mr. Allen is himself an ex- 
perienced sculjitor in granite and marble having 
taken three years' instruction from Thomas 
MeComb at Hamilton, Ont., after having served 
four years apprenticeship with Charles N. Sheriff 
at Trenton, Ont., He ex]iects with the conven- 
iences that the new building gives him that he 
will lie able in the course of time to disi)lay some 
very fine work — superior to anything ever seen in 
this section. His accomodatiims will be greatly 
improved from the fact that be will have a large 




.N. .\. HI'CHIOS' H.AKIIW Alii". STdKK. 



51 



•GKH-'S' HISTOIUOAL HOUVENIU OF PH(EN1X. 




Boriinvtd J'butus. TUliTuW.N UOAKI) 

C. J, Fuller, Justice of Peace. R. D. Latham, Justice of Peace 

F. L. Smith, Supervisor. 
W. E. Conriiil, Jiistiee of Pcaci'. W. H. Mi'vriani, Jiistire of Pcaoe 

(\ D. Ash, Clcik. 

storage liouse for stock and tools in tlie rear. 
The Ijeginuing of IIKW witnesses tlie oiieuing of 
his new place with satisfaction to the comnmnity. 
Two-thirds of his patrons come from the adjacent 
towns, including the cities of Syracuse, Oswego 
and Fulton Avhere he sells many exjiensive monu- 
ments. The material he uses consists oi the pro- 
duct of the Vermont Marhle Oo's. quarries, of 
which Senator Proctor is the head, and other of 
the best ^cranite ipiarries of the Xew England 
states, including the (^nincey, Barre, Mil ford and 
Concord. Several yearsijriortoconinigto Ph i nix 
Mr. Allen Inid e.\i)erieiicc in the best .shops in the 
towns of ("aiiada, including London, Ouelph, 
Brantford, Chatham, St. Catharines. Hissteadily 
increasing business here rccjnires the employment 
of travelling agents the whole year. 

Mr. Allen was born at Clonsecon, Prince Edward 
Co., Ont., March 28, LS,-)5, and attended the ]iub- 
bc school until he was si.xteen years old when he 
began an api)rentice.sliip as previiaisly mentioned, 
being taught the fine brauclus of the trade. 
On Jan. liO, 1.S83, he was married to Miss Harriett 
E. Share. They have one child, n daughter. 
Madalon H. who is attending .school at the Con- 
vent of the Sacred Heart, Kenwood, near Albany. 
N. Y. Mr. Allen is a i)a.st grand in the (iolden 
Kule Lodge No. 77, I. O. O. E. of Ph mix. 

Richard D. Lathaoi is an active and enthusi- 
astic secret society man, who in 1882 became a 
menil>er of Cidhmachus Lodge, Xo. otill, F. A* A. 
M., of which he served three years as master, and 
the following year joined the <'hai.ter, since then 
holding ]>ositions of honor and trust in the local 
organizations and sevend times representing thein 
in the State Temple. Since bS81 he has bei'ii a 



member of Golden Rule 
Lodge, No. 77, I. O. O. 
P., and has worked every 
degree in the order being 
also a member of the 
Ph mix encamj)meut. In 
18!ll-o he .served as dis- 
trict deputy grand master 
of Oswego district. He 
is al.so a member of Court 
Euclid Xo. 1071, L O. 
F. , serving iis Chief 
Hanger for seven years 
and a term as district 
deputy High Chief Ran- 
ger. .Mr. Latham wius 
born in Cleveland, Oswe- 
go county, X^. Y., Oct. 9, 
18.")1. A few weeks later 
the family moved to Ful- 
ton, their former home, 
wheie he was (>ducatcd 
in the i)ublic schools and 
Falley seminary. His 
father. Richard, came to 
Fulton from Franklin 
county in 181.") or 'li. His 
mother, ;\Iercy A. Hul)- 
bell was born there. Both 
died there. Their family 
consisted of four children 
of whom the subject of 
this sketch is tlie only one 
living. The latter u])on 
leaving school, in lAliS, 
\vas ap])renticed as a tin, sLeet iron and copjier 
worker to C. T. Wood it Co. of Fulton and was in 
the em] iloy of that firm until it went out of business 
an<l afterwards was with Schenck Bros, it Co., his 
connection with both houses continuing eight or 
nine ye.irs. Afterwards he worked at his trade in 
various parts of tlie country until March, 188(1, when 
he came hi Phceuix in the employ of Albert Hop- 
kins, with whom Mr. Latham wa.s engaged until 
Ho]ikins went out of business, when the former 




Mm Towi (I IMiiito, 

li. 1). l,.\ril.\M. .Iiistice of Pence. 



"GBIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PHCENIX. 



55 




UurrowL-il Photti. 

DK CHARLES \V.,KI( JH AUUS. 

went into the employ of N. A. Hughes and was 
with him seven years. In 1887 he went into 
business for himself in the old knife factory build- 
ing, where he is still located at the corner of 
Canal and Lock streets. Mr. Latham is also a 
plumber and gas titter and his recognized capacity 
keeps him busy all of the time. He is an active 
republican worker, as his father was, and has 
served both as village and county committeeman. 
In 1891-2 he served as town clerk. At the 
present time he is one of the justices of the 
town having received appointment in i-'ep- 
tember 1902, to till an unexpired term. 
Mr. Latham is a vigorous worker in the M 
E. church society, being a past pre.sideut of 
the Epworth League and the superinten 
dent of the Sunday school. 

Dr. Charles Willard Richards opened 
an office in Phieuix, taking quarters in the 
HanseU block, in August, 19U1, where he 
practiced dentistry until, after being mar- 
ried, July 22, 1902, when it was deemed 
desirable to make a change, the growth of 
his practice re(piiring larger and more 
convenient dental parlors. So in August, 
191(2. he located in the large house known as 
the Haight residence at the corner of Lock 
and Jeft'crson streets, where he has fitted up 
jjleasant as well as commodious rooms, 
giving his patrons most desirable accommo- 
dations in a (juiet, desirable .section of the 
village. Mrs. Richards was Miss ;\Iarv L. 
Holmes from Dugway; but the had been. 
prior to their marriage, a teacher in the 
Pluenix school and regarded as her home 
the village of Phcenix. Dr. Richards 
was born in Holley, Jlich., June 1(), 
1875. and when 18 years old he entered 
the military academy at Mexico where 
he and his wife were class mates, and 
where lie was graduated in the class of 
1895. He was engaged in his chosen 
profcssiiin with Dr. Davey at Parish at 



the opening of the Spanisli-Americ.in war and he 
promjitly ofl'ered his ser\'ices which were ac- 
cejited, he being enlisted in the ()5th regiment, 
N. Y. v., at Buffalo. Ke was plajed in the 
hospital corps and served both at Caniiis Alger 
and Black. Upon the return of the regiment to 
Bufl'alo, while waiting there to be mustered out. 
Dr. Richards matriculated in the University of 
Bufl'alo and was graduated from that institution 
in 1901. 

Oswego and Oneida Rivers, 1757. — The 

French [Paris] document [No. XIIIJ describes 
the ascent of these streams, in 1757, as follows: 
"The entrance of the river Chouegeu is easy; the 
harbor is formed of a cove. The English had a 
fort on each side of this river by which this en- 
trance was defended. From Chouegen to the 
Great [Oswego] fall is an ascent of four leagues. 
In this sjjace the navigation is intricate, the river 
rajud and encumbered by rocks. Good jjilots, 
familiar with the shoals, are requisite to be able 
to pass through it. Bateaus must be unloaded at 
the tireat fall where a portage occurs of about 40 
or 50 paces. The bateaus are dragged along the 
ground. It i^ estimated to be about four leagues 
from the Fall to the mouth of the river o f the five 
nations [Seneca], which mouth is called the Three 
Rivers; its navigation is good. About a (juarter 
of a league before commg to the Three Rivers 
there is, however, a current [Three River Rifts at 
Phoenix] where precaution is requisite. From 
the Three Rivers to Lake Oneida is com)Hited 
eight leagues; the navigation is good; the river is 
about f SO paces wide; it is at all times passable 
with loaded vessels. This river is the outlet of 




. S. .T. Mover. Ptioto. 

THE CONGHEGATIONAL (HrHCH. 



5() 



•ClKIP'ri" HISTORICAL SOUVENIK OF PHCENIX. 



Luke Oucidu. There is neither fall or rapid at 
its eiilriiuce. Lake Oneiila is twelve lennuesloug 
by about one leiK^ne wide. Its navigation is 
beautiful and [iractieahle at all times, unless there 
is a strong e ntrurv wiud. It is the lust on the 
lake whieh is the north side." 

Oswego River Tent No. fil!^ Knights of tlic 
Maeeahees was instituted Sei>f. IS. IS ID by D.pt. 
Co:nniander W. W. White. I'lir following gentle- 
nu'n made ajiplicatiou tor eharter membership 
and were aeccptid and obligated as Knights of the 
Maeeabees: A E. Ituss. W. H. Jennings, E. U. 
Sweet, Vr J A. I'endergast, A. AI. Donnelly, 
Hiram A[e(iann, F. \V. Burleigh, F. N. Siiaulding, 



Teut it has lieen steadily growing until ut the i>ve- 
smit time it has over forty members iu good staud- 
ing. The membership roll eontaius the names of 
sonu' of the most eouservativ.- pe!)|ile of Pho'uix 
who are looking for the iu-uranci' jiroteetiou and 
the social ]).irt of a large and |>rospi'rous fr.iternal 
orgauiz iliou. Tlie tent is about to organize a di'- 
gree tcaai to e\ 'mjiUfy the beautiful ritual work 
of the order. The |ireseiit otlicers are: Sir Knight 
1>. Com., O. 1). Walker; Sir Jvnight C(uu.. H. i). 
Cr.indall: Sir Knight Lieu. C'om., F. C. 'Ihonias: 
Sir Knight K. K. and F. K., W. Jrl. Jennings: Sir 
Knitjht Chaplain. Herman AleUanu; Sir Knight 
Sargent, Frederick Veal: Sir Knight I'livsician, 
Dr. II. A. Wileux: Sir Kuif;ht Waster at' Arms. 
J. E. Jones: Sir Kni'dit bst .^raster of ( i., F. W. 




SWUCn KIVI'.K TKN'I'. No. IW^.'. K. ( >. T. M. 

n-v,:i. K. U. SwiMt, I. .Iium-s Hni/.icr, .">. Isaac .Vllcn. 



1 MaMrii' Ma.vllcM -' ( ■liiolc s H. ( urcv, :1. K. U. SwimI, I. .Iiuncs Hni/.icr, .">. Isaac .Vllcii. i!. .Inniis I-.. .Iiines. ?• 
■I'liiirii I)' Miixlici.l s llitaiii Mcliaini.li, Horaci- l!i-nc-.lict. 111, Win. S. lllaki\ 11. .Vrllnii- M. Dciuiclly. 1:.'. .\rtluii- I,- 
TlKinnis 'I'i Ccii-ir',. il, H,.nc.lict. 14. .1. 1. VaiiDnrcii. l"i. Dr. It. A. Wilcnx. Hi, (Irvillc I). Walk •!■. 17 11. DcF.ircst 
< landali, IS, U'. H. .Icmiintrs, lil. Herman McCiaiin. -'(I, Krcd (1. Ituwcrintr. -1. l!i<liard.l. ^ unnj.'. ^'u'. liaiik- «. liur- 
Iciy li, Zi. Fnink N. S|iaiil(linK, :.M. R. 8. Kcllar. 'J.'), l'"rank (". Tlionias. 



F. W. Hakes, W. S. Blake, A. P. Merriani, Dr. 
E. J. Drury, Frederick Veal, K. N. Sweet, Isaac 
Alien, Chas. Corey, Wui. B. Clark, J. I. VanDoren, 
E. G. Hutchinson and Joseph Hindi. The fol- 
lowing oHieers were elected and installed for the 
1st term: Sir Knight P. (Join., W. H. Jennings: 
Sir Knight Com., A. E. Buss; Sir Knight liieut. 
Com., E. K. Sweet; Sir Knight P.. K. and F. K.. 
Dr. J. A. I'endergast: Sir Knight Chaplain. .\. M. 
Donnelly ; Sir Knight Sargent. Hiram AlcC.inn: 
Sir Knight bst Ma.ster of ({., F. W. Hiirlcigh; 
Sir Knight 2ud Ma.ster of (i., F. N. Spaiildiug, 
Sir Knight :\Iaster at Anns. A. P. iMerriam:Sir 
Knight Physician, Dr. K. J. Drurv: Sir Knight 
Sentinel, I<\ W. Hakes; Sir Knight l'i<-ket, W. S. 
P.lake. Sii the institution of Oswego Hiver 



Burh-igh; Sir Knight -Jnd Master of (J., B. J" 
Young: Sir Knight Sentinel, ( ). Watson ; Sir Knight 
Picket, B. S. Kellar. 

French Claims. Early iu the eighteenth cen- 
tury Three Rivers, three miles above Plnenix, was 
elainied as the boundary between the French and 
English lands, (iov. Burnet having lu-dered the 
erection of a stfuie redoubt at Oswego which was 
placed under the command of .Mr. Paiicker, the 
Marquis of Beauharnois,govern:n- of Xew France, 
sent a .summons that the posi should be abandoned 
and tint the F.nglisli should retire from the 
country extendinii as far south on O.swego Pdver 
as the Oii.ida River tlie Engli.sh being granted 
the ju-ivilege to establish trading jiosts on that 
riv. r. This .summons was da'ed Montreal July 
11. 17'J7. but was never obeyeil. 



'GRIP'S- HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PHCENIX. 



Phoenix Chapter No. 172, Order of theEsist- 
o:n Star, was coiislitiitt'il at Masonic Hall, Phipiiix, 
X. Y., ou March 4, 1839, by Frank Uavmoud, 
M. W. G. P. and Elizabeth Kaymoml M. W. P. 
(t. M. There were eighteen charter nienil)er.s 
with the following otticerK: Nellie S. Binning W. 
M. : John O'Brien W. P. ; Olive J. Mason A. M. ; 
(i.'orgie K. Wright Cond. ; Jennie Vickerv Asst. 
('(ind. : Mary A. Looniis treasurer; Kinnie Fuller 
s. cretary; Ada Remington, Adah; Antoinette 
1 (loniis, Ruth; Elizabeth Plaisted, Esther; Cora 
]'. Hakes, Martha; Carrie Fox, Electa; Eliza Kin- 
slow, Warder; John Dvgart, Sentinel; Cordelia 
Knnball, Organist; Bessie N. Avery, Eva Wood, 
Ella Wood and Fannie Russ, members. On the 
occasion of the organization of the clia.|iter, tlie 



the meetings of Phoenix Chapter have been held 
in the Masonic Lodge rooms. The members of 
Phrenix Chxpter have always been ready to lend 
assistance to their l)rother Masons and were es25eei- 
ally helijfnl to them during the iSIasonic Fair, 
held during the week of Jan. 23, 190'J, which was 
a financiiil success. Callimachus Lodge presented 
Ph t nix Chapter in token of its services, with 
$U)0 which was quite an addition to the treasury. 
On May 18, 1901, it was the happy privilege of 
Ph mix Chapter to exemplify the work on the oc- 
casion of the org.anization of Baldwinsville C'hap- 
ter at Baldwinsville, N. Y. 

At the -'iSd annual session of the (Jrand Chap- 
ter of the state of New Y'ork which met at Masonic 
Teiiijile. New York City. ()<-t. 14. 1.', IC. 1902, 




THE EASTERN STAR, AUXIL1,AI(V T( I CA 1.1,1 MAI'H I'S LODGE, No. »i9, F. & A. M. 
1. Mis. - Wrisiht, 3, H. M. Dvg-Pi-t. 3, Mrs. Dr Diairv, 4, Mrs. C. J. Fuller, .">, Mrs. Dr. Wilcox, i;. Mrs. .1. li. Kiiis- 
!• w, T. Mrs. H. 1!. Fox, 8, Mrs. I. P. KetLs. H, I. P. ISrtls. In, Miss li. .li-nniQK-s, II, Mrs. ('. V. Loiiinis. 13, Mrs. M. .I.Kiee, 
li. .1. \V. Dvfrert, 14, Mrs. Gcorji-e Wood, ].">, Mrs. liurton lietts, 16, Mrs. \Vm. Stewart, 17. .lohn ( I'ltrim, IS, Mrs. Dr. .1. 
v.. Iliininiii, 111. Mrs. C. P. Kimball, 311, Mrs. H. D. Wood, 31, Mrs. — Jones, 32, Mrs. W. H. .Iiiiiumus, 2-i. Miss Eva 
K iniliall, 34. .Mrs. Corey, 3.i, Miss Moycr, 3I>, Mrs. E. C. Vickery. 

work was exemplified by Elizabeth CaUlwell 
Ciiapter, O. E. S. of Central Square, N. Y., with 
the following officers: Mrs. Emma A. Low W. M. ; 
:\r. Van Auken W. P. ; Flora C. Boyington A. JI. ; 
Minnie A. Low tre.asurer; A. W. Woodin secre- 
tary; Nellie Low Wilcox Cond.; Mrs. ,1. M. Snow 
Asst. Cond ; Mary A. Lancaster, Adah ; (jarrie 
Ames, Ruth; Abigail Madison, E.sther; Ida Ben- 
nitt, Martha; Flora Van Auken, Electa; Minnie 
Mclntyre, Warder; Elli A. Wood, organist; P. L 
Woodin, sentinel. 

Phcenix Chapter received its charter July 2;l, 
18 J9. It was presente 1 by F'rauk Raymond of 
Syracuse ('hai)ter. A rec option and banipiet fol- 
lowed the presentation. Through the courtesy of 
Calli.uachus Lodge No. 369, F. & A. M. of Phienix, 



Nellie 8. Binning. Past Matron of Phcenix Chap- 
ter W.1S appointed R. W. I). D. G. M. of the 24th. 
district, which the Chapter considers an honor. 
The membL'rsliip of Ph ( nix Chapter has increased 
to 74. 

The jiresent officers are: Olive J. Mason W. M. ; 
Ira P. Betts W. P. ; :Mary Morton A. M. ; G^orgie 
K. Wright Cond. ; Jennie Vickery Asst. Cond. : 
Carrie Hamil treasurer; Rinnie Fuller secretary ; 
H. Amenzo Dygert cha])lain; Edna Ward, Adah; 
Luella Moyer. Ruth; (irace Dutclier, Esther; 
Emma Sheldon, Martha; Harriet Jeiiniiig.s, Electa; 
Cordelia Kimball, marshall; Carrie Hazard, 
warder: John Dygai't, sentinel: .\iiiii .May Betts, 
organist. 



58 



"GRIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF I'HCEMX. 




li.irrowi.i I'.ii.t... IKA liKTTS. 

Ira Betts was honiiit Coxijickie, Green couutv, 
N. Y., oil Jim. 1, 18m III 1H49 be started for 
California liy way of the Isthmus of I'anania, hut 
went no f.irther than Accapuleo, ^Mexico. After 
three years he returned home and went to Alliany 
where he purchased and conducted the ilarble 
Pillar Hotel. A few years later he bought a farm 
at Hinmam ille and soon after came to Ph i ni.\ 
and comuieueed the lousiness of building I'anal 
boats. In If^.SII he went to Butialo and engaged in 
canal forrtanling. He was appointed under (io\ . 
Hill, superintendent of the western division of 
the Erie canal. In ISill) he refurued to Ph ■ nix 
where he lived until his death on .\pril 27. litDl. 
In 1853 he married Cornelia Reed, who died in 
18ti(i leaving three child- 
ren Franklin, Nora and 
Ella. In 1869 he mm-ried 
Anna Loomis, by whom 
he hiul four children, 
Doothie, Lena, Hunter 
and Homer. In politics 
he was a democrat. He 
was a me.id)erof Callinia- 
clius Lodge, F. \- A. ^I., 
and Oswego River Cha))- 
ter, R. A. M., of that 
village, the Knights 
Templar Central City 
Coniniandeiy of Syracuse 
and American Lodge, 
No. 32, I. (). (). F., at 
Albany. 

Oswego to Albany 

in the 18th century is 
described in French doc- 
uments as follows: Os- 
wego to great fall foni- 
leagues, and great fall (o 
Three Hiveis the same 
ilistance: the river of the 
Oneidas to ( )neida lake 
eight leagues; through 



Oneida lake twelve leagues; the river Vilcrick to 
Fort Hull on the summit level of the right bank 
nineltagues; from Fort Bull to Fort William |()nc- 
ida carrying jilace | on the right bank of the Mo- 
hawk river is estimated at a league nml a ipiarter; 
from Fort William following the right bank of 
the ^lohawk to Fort Kouari |o])posi e We.st Can- 
ada <Teek I twelve le:igues; to Fort ('aiinatciiocary 
[CaiiajoharieJ four leagues; to Fort Hunter is 
twelve leagues; Fort Hunter to Chenectedi | Sche- 
nectady | is seven leagues; from Chenectedi to 
Fort Orange | Albany | is six or seven leagues. 

Pioneer Roads^in 1700 jus described by the 
French. le<l to the interior both from Oswego and 
River La Famine |Salmon). "Leaving Chouegeii 
I Oswego |," .says one of the French documents of 
17") 7, "there is a road over which the Fnghsh 
us (1 to drive cattle and hor.ses. This road fol- 
lows the border of the left IwestlV)] bank of the 
i-iver Chouegen. The Five Nations river is piussed 
at a IhU near its entrance into the river (^honegeii, 
after which the road proceeds along the edge of 
the right liank of Five Nations river to the village 
of the Onnontegues (Onondagasj whence it pro- 
<'eeds across the country to the village of the 
Ca-skarorius | Tnscaronis | and the Oneidas, whence 
we can go to Forts Bull and Williams. M. de 
Belhetre in his exjiedition against the village of 
the Palatines went from the mouth of the Famine 
river, ascended this river for the distance of four 
leagues and leaving it on the left followed the 
path leading to Oneida hike on his right and came 
to the summit level at Fort Williams — the dis- 
tance of 2i to 30 leagues." 

Phoenix Bank Robbery. - ( )n the morning 
of Oct. 28, 181)2. the olficers of the bank discov- 
ered that it had been entered during the night by 
a window, and some ^3,000 in money had been 
taken from the safe. The doors had been ojiened 
either by resorting to the combination or, ai was 
then thought, because it had been left without be- 




MAUrilA Ml KIM.K^ .s li i;si I li;.\( K. 



'GRIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PHOENIX. 



59 




Borrowi'il Pliiito. J. T. SEAMANS. 

ing thrown off. Parties who had been seen about 
the vilhige the previous night were fallowed to 
Baldwiusville, a dark lantern and black cloth be- 
ing discovered under a bridge on the road. 
James Spauldiug shadowed a suspect for some 
time and a Fulton hardware dealer recognized 
him as the piu-chaser of the lantern. The evi- 
dence, however, was never considered sutticient 
to convict. Valualile but unnegotialjle papers 
taken from the safe were found bv some boys 
under one of the buildings on the fair grounds. 

J. T. Seamans, a veteran of the civil war, and 
ime of the older residents of Ph eni.x, was born in 
Otsego county, June 11, 182o, his home being 
near the village of East Winfield, Herkimer 
county, where he attended the district school un- 
til he was fifteen years old. His father was a 
farmer who settled in that 
region in the early part 
of the century. Their 
liome was on what was 
the old Cherry Valley 
turni)ike which was then 
the only available means 
for the farmers to get their 
products to the market 
.-it All)auy. It was com- 
mon to see large droves 
of stock pass the house, 
being driven to Albany 
and youi'g Heamans 
earned his first quai-ters 
assisting in driving them 
as far as he could go and 
return home before dai'k. 
When he was eighteen 
years old his parents 
moved into the town of 
Albion, Oswego county, 
where his father liought a 
small piece of land which 
he liellH'd to clear u)! and 
assisted in cnlti\ating, Mi-s. s. ,1, .\Ii..m r. I'lmi. 



working on the farm until he was married, which 
was in April, 1814, the oliject of his choice being 
Nancy Jewell. She died in 186fi and his second 
wife was Addie Barker, of Albion, whose devotion 
and companionship he enjoyed until September 
1901, when she died. His children, all by his first 
wife, were Stukley Seamaus of Norwich, an en- 
gineer on the Ontario and Western railroad ; Le- 
Eoy, an engineer on the New York Central (de- 
ceased); Dora who is in Oswego; Jennie (Mrs. 
Hinckley) of Syracuse and Nellie (Mrs. Nichols, 
deceased.) A year or two after his first marnage 
Mr. Seamans built a saw and shingle mill at 
Centerville whicti he oi)erated successfully until 
his enlistment in the federal service. During that 
time he bought timber lots and finally cleared np 
131) acres of land upon whicli he erected farm 
Iniildings and which he rendered highly pro- 
ductive. On August 7, 18ii'J, he enlisted in the 
IKIth N. Y. v., at Pineville, the regiment which 
was officered and mustered in at Oswego and 
which was placed under the command of I). C. 
Littlejohn. Mr. Seamans was made cori)oral and 
the regiment, first go ng to Baltimore, was finally 
sent to New Orleans where it served under the 
command of Banks who had succeeded (Jen. But- 
ler. Huring his service in that city Mr. Seamans 
was promoted to first duty sergeant and after- 
wards did duty as orderly sergeant He was also 
in the Banks expedition to the Red River country 
and twice to Port Hudson where he was present at 
the capture of that stronghold. In 18()4 he was 
discharged for disability aud upon returning home 
went l)ack upon the farm near CentervOle. Two 
years later he sold the property and bought afarm 
near Pennellville where he carried on farming 
ui til 1898 when he moved into the viUage of 
Phi nix, purchasing a place at No. 3-t Fulton 
street, where he spends much time in gardening 
in which he takes considerable pleasure. He still 
owns the farm where dairying is the i)nncipalpart 
of the work, his dairy being considered one of the 
best in the town. During the j)ast year he reahzed 
from the milk ;done $80(1. At his vill ige home 
he enjoys the care of his granddaughter, Nora, 
who was recently married and is now ^Irs. ('. 




.1. r. Si:.\MAN.s- RESinENCE. 



Cll 



"GRIP'.S' HIsroiUCAL SOUVENIR OF 1'H(EN1X. 




l{.)rrowe(l Pliol< 



I). 1'. V<)r.\<., M. II. 



Corey, ifr. Soamans is a membi'r of Post Joe 
Gould and the Peniiellville gninge and has served 
in tlie latter org-iniziitioii as trustee and treasurer 
and secretary. At the age of 25 he was elected 
highway coniniissiducr of th<' town of Albion serv- 
ing three years. 

D. P. Younp, TH. D,, began in'actice in Pheenix 
on January 25, 1H!S ), and shortly afterwards, Febn- 
ary fi, 1889. was married to XelHe, the daughter of 
Jos. Chillingworth. He bought the J)r. Pice pro- 
perty on Ijoek street, one of the best locations for 
his home and ottice and fitted it up ir a manner 
befitting the needsof his family, so that it is greatly 
improved and iirfsents an inviting appearance. 
Diligent and (M)ialile. ;is his success in Ids prac- 
tice has proven he has found a wide field of pro- 
fessional work and is re- 
garded as one of tlic 
busiest physicians in tlic 
community. John It. 
Young his father, is a 
j)racticiiig pliysieian at 
Liverpool, Onondaga 
county, X. Y., to which 
place the family removed 
wlien D. F. Y'oung -was 
si.ic years old, coming 
from' Shell Kock, la., 
where he was born .\\n-']\ 
."), 18(jt!. His father and 
mother were both descen- 
dants of families who 
early settled in tiie town 
of Schrteppel and cleared 
land for their farms. 
The latter, So|)hia, was 
the daughter of Daniel 
I'mbeck who came to 
this co\intrv from (ier- 
many. The Youngs were 
a family that originally 
.settled in I'tica. Freil- 
erick Y'oiiiig was born .Mi>. .s. .i. .\in 



in Germany March '22, 1803. Sarah Hawthorn, 

hii wife, was born in the north of Ireland, May 
11, 1811, of Si'otidi i>areiits. Her father was a 
cousin to Nathaniel P. Hawthorn. Botli came to 
the city of Utica wiien chddren a-vd were married 
there in 18:W. fn 18(3 they went to Syraciise and 
at once ])roceedel to the far.n at Youngs Corners, 
town of .•'chneiipel, where tliey erected a log cabin 
and soon after Imilt the farm house now occupied 
by Caleb Umbeck. They were the parents of 
twelve children, four of whom are now living, 
Mrs. Elizabeth Cook of Grauby, Dr. J. U. Young 
of Liverpool, Mrs. Jennie Scriber of Rapid City, 
Dakota, and E. J. Young of Cedar City. Iowa. 
Frederick Yonugdiedat Slicll Rock, Iowa, in 1881, 
and his wife, Sarah Hawtlinrn Y<niug, died at tlie 
same ])laee in 188.". D. F. Youngatteiuled school 
at Liverpool until lie was about fifteen or sixteen 
when he was sent to the Syracuse University where 
he was graduated in 1882. He then took aconr.se 
in the Hahnemann collepe of ])hysicians and sur- 
geons and was graduated there in 1888. He be- 
gan practice with his father at Liverjiool and a 
year liiter came to Phceni.x He is a member of 
the Central New York Medical and Chirurgical 
.societies. 

Size of Large Bodies of Water.- Oceans — 
Pacifie 80,0110,01)1) sij. miles; Atlantic 4I),000,0()0; 
Indian 20.000,000: Stuithern 10,000,001): Arctic 
.5.000,000. Seas— Mediterranean 2,000 mih'S long; 
Caribbean 1,81)0; China 1,700; Red L-lOO; Japan 
1,000; Black 932; Caspian tilO; Baltic (;00:Okhatsk 
GOO; White 450; Arai 250. Lakes— Superior 380 by 
120 miles in area; Michigan, 330 by (10 miles; On- 
tario 180 by 40; Erie 270 by .^O; Huron 250 by 
90;Chainplain 12'i bv 12; Cavuga3i! by 4: George 
36 by 3; Baikal 300 l)y 35; (ireat Slave 300 by 45; 
Winnipeg 240 by 40;'.\thabasca 200 by 20; Mai-a- 
caybo 150 by (iO; Great Bear 150 by 40; Ladoga 
125 bv 75; Constance 45 bv 10; Geneva 50 bv 10; 
Lake of the Woods 70 bv 25. 




Dii. I). 1'. Vdi Nils 1(1 sii)i:.N( i;. 



"GRIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PHCENIX. 



61 




llon-nwt'd Photos. H. 
A. E. nr.- 



RCISS. 

iind lii-i HijiKlnicce, TE\A JOS 
(ffraoclchuiirlitLr of H. (_'. Riiss. 



Hosea B. Russ for more than thirty years 
was a leadins' business mau of PluBiiix, who en- 
t;ap:e(l largely in industrial as well as commercial 
enterprises. HaviuK a vigorous constitution, 
though small in stature, an iron will and a resolute 
jiurpose to aoeomj)lish every nnilertaking he had 
begun, his life was cut short by hard — almost un- 
ceasing — work. Up at b/eak of day and steadily 
employed until late at night, often going without 
his meals, and measuring his capacity for work 
with the hardiest of his employes, Mr. Rnss often 
said he never found days long enough to suit his 
jiurpose. Rigidly temperate in his food and 
drink, an nneomprouusing toe to all forms of 
stimulant, he might have lived many more years 
had he lieen as temperate in his devotion to busi- 



ness. He was one of the influential citi- 
zens whose 'iMlvice was sought snd acc<'pted 
and who was kind to the needy nnd dis- 
t) essed . 

Mr. Russ was born in Pompey, Onondaga 
Co., N. Y., Nov. ], 1824; Elizabeth Max- 
tield to whom he was married Dec. 18, 181"\ 
was born in Stiirk, Herkimer Co., jMarcli 
2i), 1S24. She died Jan. 28, 1891. They 
had nine children, of whom four are living, 
Henry L. at Syracuse, Jari' s H.at Palermo, 
and .V. E. and Hii'am C. at Phtenix. Henry 
tlie eldest was born Dec. 4, bSlB and Sar ji 
M. Julv 12, 18111, both at (iranl)V, N. Y. ; 
Philo N., Nov. 21, IS'A), James B", Oct. 1."). 
1851, A E. May 215, 1858 and H. C. Nov. 1, 
18.")1, at Ph 1 nix; Ho.sea 1)., March 11, 1858 
at Ly Sander N. Y. ; Charles P., Dtc. -1, 
1858, and Eva Louise, June 12, 1803 at 
Phrmix. 

Ho.sea B. Russ in 1850 came to Phcenix 
from Hinmanville, having previou.sly lived 
in Salina and Mine years before that con- 
ducted a store at Pom])ey. .\tPhieiii\ he entered 
into a f aw mill and lumber business with Amasa P. 
Hart, which continued until 185") when he formed 
a partnership with Enoch S. Brooks and Titus E. 
Gilbert to carry on a general mercantile business; 
and Ihey also engaged in cutting and drawing 
wood from the Peter Scott swamp. Two 
years later he purcha^ied and moved on to the 
farm now owned liy the heirs of Walter Pender- 
gast which he ocjupied until 1859 when he 
moved over the river int<i the village of Phtenix, 
and conducted a store until, in 1801, when he 
went to East Saginaw, Mich., to take charge of 
the mill and lumlier business of E. F. Gould. On 
account of the unhealthy condition of the sur- 
roundings he remained there but a vear. In 



■ l.v. 




Hon-owcd Phott)F. 



A. E. KIX.S' GllncEKY, STOVE ANli FEED STnUE. 

HOSEA II. his 



MltS. H. B. KISS. 



62 



"GRIPS" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PHCENIX. 



ISi'i" lie nuiiin entered iiitd iiiiitiierslii]) with Aniusa 
P. Hurt in the mill iind hinil>er business. The 
next year he inuclmscd the groeerv business of 
licslie & Co. at the )>liu-e where he carried it on 
until ISTli when it passed into the linuds of his son. 



business nu'thods were made to succeed to a tlat- 
t<"rinf? degree. His milling interests whicli he 
]iersonall,v conducted to the time of his death. 
March 5, ]H,S3, were among the largest in that line 
in this part of the state. From time to time they 




.Mi-s. S. .1. Mo.ver. I'lioli 



SEVKKAI, DKSllt.MII.I'; liKSI IIKNTI AI, STHEKTS. 



\'iew in West I'hii'llix. 
.h'lli'l-son Stnitli frtiiil lll-iilj^i- Stfei't. 
I-(K'k V,»st li-ttni .Irtl't-rsoTl. 
ClU'Stmit NW'.st Irimi .Muiii. 



A. E. Kuss who is stdl nmuiug it. In 1872 he 
bought out Mr. Hart's iuterot in the mills and 
during the ensuing four years his hands were full 
in the miiniigement i>f the two si'iuirate lines of 
business, both of whicli by reason of his careful 



N'iew in West l*lm'ni.v. 
[,n( k Slrrt-t !t|>[)rn:u'ii to tin* Itridjrc. 
Ctn-stnut Kiist iT-nin .Nliiin. 
I'"ult«>n luokiii;^ Xnrtli. 

were extended imtil when he died he had mills in 
o))eration at I'litenix, Pennelh-ille, East Palermo 
and ^lo.ss's Corners. .\t the last he was also in- 
terested in the Phoenix Foundry and Manulaetur- 
ing Co. He was twice elected justice of the peace 



"GRIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PHOENIX. 



63 




Biii-rowod Pbutos. 
MRS. CHARLES \V. 



TIBBS. 



CHAULES \V. TU 



and held other offices of trust, at one time serving 
as excise commissioner. He took an active inter- 
est in the welfare of Phoenix. 

A. E. Russ, the grocer at the corner of Canal 
and Lock streets — a bnsiness which he purchased 
from hi.s father and which today is being carried 
on in the oldest business place in Phtenix, began 
working in his father's mills at Pennellville in 
1872 and in the spring of 1875 went into the .store 
of which he became the proprietor the following 
year. On Jan. 28, 1880, he married Carrie 8. 
.Johnson of Phienix. Mr. Russ, besides other 
business interests, has stock in the Phoenix 
sliding blind works and the Phoenix Dis- 
tillery and Yeast Co. He held the ofHce of vil- 
lage treasurer three or four years, town clerk four 
or five years and super- 
visor four years. 

H. C. Russ, a clerk for 
his brother, with the ex- 
ception of a sViort sojourn 
in the west has ah\ays 
resided in Phienix, hav- 
ing been with his brother 
.almost constantly since 
his father's death. He is 
a member of the Odd Fel- 
lows and Masonic lodges 
and Chapter of Phcenix 
and Harmony Lodge, A. 
O. U. W. No. 2 of 
Moline, 111. 

Oswego Falls Fort. 

— .\ stockade fort was 
constructed at this place 
in the month of May. 
17r)(i, by the command of 
Col. Mercer, the com- 
mander of the ])ort at Os- 
wego for the jjurpose of 
defending the passage of 
the fulls where all canoes 



and bateaux had to be dragged overland. 
The boats were taken from the water on the 
east shore a quarter of a mile below the 
falls, opposite an island. 

C. W. Tubbs, one of the oldest citizens 
of 'Phoenix engaged in active occupation, 
was born in the town of Essex, Chittenden 
Co., Vt., Feb. .5, 1826. In 1833 he moved 
to Utica, N. Y., and a year later returned 
to Vermont, his home afterwards being suc- 
cessively in the towns of Underhill, Essex, 
Winooski and Burlington. On July 10, 
1844, he came to Scriba. Oswego county, 
where he lived two j ears, and on June 9, 
1846, moved to Phoenix, taking passage on 
the packet, St. Lawrence, Captain Wm. 
Stewart. On Nov. 29, 1847, he was ifarried 
and on Dec. 16, 1847, began keejring house 
at the corner of Bridge and Jetl'erson streets. 
On April 1, 1849, he built the house on Jef- 
erson street, his present home, where he 
has lived 53 years. When he came to Phcenix 
he learned blacksmithing of David S. 
Cajjron. During his residence here he 
has witnes.sed the erection of three bridges 
jjjjg on the river .and the construction of the 

raOroad, on which he ])urchascd one of 
the first tickets that were sold. From 1865 
to 1869 he was employed by Avery & North- 
rup in the bedstead factory on the west side of 
the river, where he ran the first shaper machine 
^a the village. Then he worked in A. W. Sweet's 
casket factory, next for Dr. Avery making cig.ar 
boxes and afterwards for the Phoenix Knife Co. 
On March 1, 1852, he joined the Enterprise Fii-e 
Co. as charter member and was elected 2d assist- 
ant foreman, then the first assistant and finally 
the foreman in which position he served six years. 
He was chief of tlie departuieut for several years. 
He was one of tho.se who organized, in 1862, the 
first lirass band in Phienix of which A. Diefen- 
dorf was the leader. In 1867 he became an Odd 
Fellow and was noble grand and secretary, each 
two terms, and served as ti'easurer nearly twenty 




CHAULES \V. TUBBS' RESIDENCE. 



64 



"GRIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PH(ENIX. 




li in-..wiil I'Mi.li.. 

I'', 1,. SMITH, SiijHTvis IP. 

years. In ISflS be joinel the masonic lodge of 
which he is tlie secretary, elected as such in ]897. 
He lield the otliijes of junior and senior deacon 
and was elected nisuster in 1878, '74, '77 and '81. 
In Oct. 188i>. he became a memlier of OsweRo 
Kiver ('hapter, R. A. M. He was also trustee of 
the village for three years. 

Supervisor Frank I . Smith of the town of 
Scliiiepjicl Wiis first noiiiinated liy his (larty, the 
reimlilicaiis of the town, and elected in the sjuing 
of I8;l(;, town nieetiugs heing held at that time iu 
the spring of the year .\ithuugh Hchnejipel is 
normally re])uhlican by a large majority the suc- 
cess of the ti<'k('t that year was jeopardized through 
im oversight in which 
there was a neglect to 
coir ply with legal techni- 
calities in placing the 
nomination of one of the 
Candidates in the field. 
The others caniH to his 
rescue and the entire 
ticket lost the use of the 
party emblem. All of 
the resources of the local 
organization were taxed 
to insure the success of 
the ticki't.and the liurdi n 
of oi)])osition was natii 
rally directed against (he 
head of the ticket. Since 
then Mr. Smith has been 
successively returned to 
the county legislature by 
majorities at and above 
normal figures, .-erving, 
year after year.on the im 
portant committees such 
B8 ways and means, mis- 
cellaneous and ('(jualiza- 
tion.he has been in lhei>o 
sition to render excellent 



service in securing ivn economical udministration 

of artaim. Recognizing his fitness for the office 
the board in IHII,) made him chairman and during 
tliat year the verdict of the ( )snt'go newspapers 
was tliat the session had established a ]irecedcnt 
for harmony, close apiilication to work and prompt 
adjournment when its obligations had been per- 
fnrmeil. This year Mr. Smith is chairman of 
ways and means, the leading committee of ihe 
board and as such has in the course of the ]ia.st 
session maintaintd his reputation as a legislator 
having economy uppermost in his ))ur])ose. He 
has always been an active rejiiiblican worker, 
l>articip .ting in the jilans of the local organization 
and rendering service as a delegate to county and 
state conventions and contributing freely of his 
time and means in su|iport of the candidates and 
jiolicies of his party. In 18S,S he went to .Albany 
will re he served during the legislative session of 
that .> ear, in charge of the as.sembly committee on 
general laws. Mr. Su.ith was reared on a farn', 
and his occupation is still farming, he Vicing the 
owner of the olil hoiiiesteail, a farm of over 12;> 
acres, besides other agricultural lands in the town 
of Schr.ejijiel; ]iro)ierty in which he takes great 
|)ride perisonally directing its cultivation and mak- 
ing it yield abundantly. Harvey H. Smith, his 
father, who was born near Hichtield Springs in 
182], came to this county and located in Palem o 
about 18.'jl). Thej'e he married Laviiia Jennings 
and they finally bought land a mile and a half 
north of Phuni.'i where Frank L. Sinidi was bom 
May 121, 18."),S, making that their home until the 
death of Mr. Smith, which occurred there in 
January, 1888. Mrs.H.H. Smith who survived her 
husband over three years, died in this village Nov. 
30, 18itl. 

Frank L. Smith attended the district school in 
his early years and at 19 years of age closed his 
.school days in the Pho-nix Hiyh school, and re- 
turned to the farm where he lived until he was 
married, Sept. 27, liMKI, toAdelaine, the youngest 
daughter of Judge Charles W. A'ery. The couple 
then took up their residence in this village oc- 




M i> 



. .1. Miijir. riinl. 



.SMITHS ItKSIDKNI !•; 



'GRIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PHCENIX. 



(55 



Old 




\V. AVEIiV. 



cupyiiig' tlie bMiidsome bouse on ihe coi'uer of 
Miiiu aud Bridge streets, oue of the many com- 
fortable and, hospital Ironies for which Plupnix is 
noted. Mr. Smith's fraternity connections com- 
prise only tlie Masonic lodge and chapter and the 
Grangers. 

Charles V/. Avery, who for some years was 
a leading citizen of Phceuix and a prominent law- 
yer and jurist of Oswego county, was a gentleman 
of broad intellect and liberal sentiment; an able 
and successful lawyer, a large land owner, a I'our- 
teous and dignified gentleman, an upright citizen 
and a kind and accommodating neighbor. Char- 
itable deinls quietly performed with a liberal hand 
were characteristic of his everyday life. His was 
a strong personality with frank manners and deep 
convictions. His professional associates in the 
county bar association, at a .special meeting held 
at the time of his death, when many high encomi- 
ums wei'e jiassed upon 
liim, declared him to be 
"a legal giant wdio in his 
long legal and judicial 
career discharged his 
manifold duties witli wis- 
dom and satisfaction." 
At that time in a special 
meetmg of the board of 
education of which he was 
20 years a meud)er i-nd 
17 years its president, at 
which strong and highly 
com meuda t oi'y rest)] u ■ 
tions w'eie adopted, there 
were expressed highly 
eulogistic opinions of 
him , it being declared that 
he had been of great help- 
fulness to the scliool and 
that Lis legal services had 
lieeii of considerable 
value to the public in 
that connection. In fact, \v. F. Spannw. rhot. 



no one in the village was ever considered for a 
moment as the man wanted to fill Judge Avery's 
place iu school matters. His thorough legal 
knowledge and wise judgment made him invalu- 
able in the administration of educational aftaii's. 
The village owes much to liis public spirit whether 
it be from his well known active itarticiiiation in 
public movements or from his private invest- 
ments directed in channels that were admitted to 
be of general advantage to the community, 
such as industrial enter|)ri.ses or the improvement 
of ))rivat*! property. When he cleared away the 
mass of unsightly structures at Bridge and Main 
streets and erected in their ])lai-e a handsome and 
imposing residence, now the home of his daugh- 
ter, Mrs. F. L. Smith, the people ga\-e thanks 
with rejoiceful hearts, as the result was to beau- 
tify the most conspicuous residential section of 
the village. The Judge, as he was commonly 
called, had a w-ide acquaintance through the state 
and w herever his practice called him his ability 
and legal learning were recognized, ills opinions 
on all important issues appealed to all as emi- 
nently fair and just. In his death wliich came 
after a few months of declining health, the village 
recognized its great loss and united to pay his 
memory respect, the stores of the village l)eing 
closed during the funeral services. Born in the 
town of DeWitt, Onondaga county May 2(1, IHU. 
and his death occurring at Phoenix March 12, 
1899, he was therefore in his (35tli year; and up to 
within a short time of his demise lie stiU engaged 
more or less ill his iiractice. His father, Russ 11 
Avery, who was a descendant of Christopher 
Avery who came to America early in the 17th cen- 
turv, was a farmer who, when the Judge was ten 
years old, moved into the town of H;istings and 
there conlinued fanning, sending the lad first to 
the district school and later to the Mexico Acad- 
emy. Upon his return from that institution he 
resolved to study law and went to teaching to 
assist himself in acquiring the necessary mean-, 
in the meantime pursuing his studies and finally 
entering the law office of J. B. Randall at Central 
Square. So well did he take advantage of his op- 
portunities that upon the spur of the momeut, :i 
comparatively short time after, he took the ex- 
aminatio' s and was adini'ted to the bar. This 
was in 18-">l). Before entering upon his practice — 




THE 111,1) L.\.\ISnN-l'HlKMX STACi;, 



()6 



•OKir'S" HISTORICAL, SOUVENIH OF PH(ENIX. 




111,1 I'll, ilii. DIf. ANI)I(i;\V I'. IIA.MII.I,. 

in the same year, June 21, he miirried Miss Har- 
riet E., the (laughter of Rev. Peter Woodin, of 
(Central Hiiuare, where he at onceoi)ened an office 
and praoticod during the following ten years. By 
tliis nnioii there were tliree childicii. Mrs W. H. 
Carrier and Mrs. F. L. iSmitli, of I'liieuix and 
F'rank K. .\very, deceased. Mrs. Avery died in 
Phcenix Nov. S, 189."). She was born in Hannibal, 
Oswego county, .\pril 1, l.S3(i. Upon tailing up 
his residence in Phcenix, in lS()it, Mr. .\very 
turned his attention to the promotion of several 
industries, besides carrying on his law ]>raetice, 
in which he was for years a j)artner with A. D. 
Men-y. He was instrumental in establishing the 
Agricultural Society, the Oswego and Onondaga 
Insurance company, the Phienix Knife Co. and 
the Ph(euix Pajjcr company, and took a promi- 
nent ]iart in securing t<i the village a bank. He 
wiis an active democrat, influential in the councils 
of his jiarty, and in ISSi was ajipointed county 
judge liy (iovernor ("levcland, to till the unex- 
pired term of N. W. Nutting who had resigned. 
lu 1890 he was elected district attorney for the 
county of Oswego, one of the few democrats to be 
lionore<l with that oflice, and served one term. 
He was (chosen a commissioner of the city of Syra- 
ou.se to determine the damages for which the <'ity 
was liable in taking Skeneateles lake for a water 
supply, and was made the president of the com- 
mission. 



Dr. AndrevF P. Hamill was born at Troy, 
N. Y., Nov. 2H, l,Sl)!l. His parents moved to the 
vilhige of Baldwinsville, N. Y., when he was a 
small boy. He received his early education at 
the village schools, and at the age of seventeen 
years was teaching district school in that vicinity. 
.Vt the age of twenty he went to Sterling, N. Y., 
and began the .study of medicine with his uncle 
Dr. .Mexander Proudtit, and in 1812 was gradu- 
ated at the Medical College at Fairfield, N. Y. lu 
lsi:i he located at Jacksonville, N. Y'., and soon 
secured a lucrative yet laborious practice. The 
tiist seven years of his practice he visited bis 
|iaticnts on horseback. The roads in those days 
lieing ]>oor and his circuit large, he spent the 
nio.st of his time in tlie saildle. 

In 18:i.') he married Penel()])e Baker, the daugh- 
ter of Dr. I'zra l!aker. of .lacksonville, N. Y'. 




(lid Plintd. 



.JOSEPH (_;lLI!El{-r. 




Old I'liotd. HOME (IF IIIE I,.\1E .lo.sEl'H OII.HKIiT. 



They resided there until 18.^(i, wh(>n they moved 
to Phcenix where his rejjutatiou as a successful 
physician had iirece(l(!d him. Here he soon be- 
came the leading physician of the village and was 
called very fre(]uently in consultation by other 
j)hysicians in neighboring villages because of his 
well known medical ability. He continued in 
active practice until ]8Sfi when he practii^ally 
retired. l>r. Hamill died 
Oct. !1, 1890, and was 
lun-ied at .Jack.sonvillc, 
beside his wife who died 
in l8t;l. 

Joseph Gilbert was 

b(un July 17, 1810, at 
Paris (now Sau(pioit), 
Oneida Co., N. Y. His 
father. .VUan Oillxn-t, 
moved to the town of 
Si-lir(ep]iel when he wasa 
small boy. He secur(>d 
his education in the Plue- 
nix schools of those days. 
On Jan. 1, 18U, "he 
married Louisa Haight of 
( 'lay. He commenced his 
business career by run- 
ning a packet boat on the 
F.rie and ( )swego canals. 
.\11 of his life he was in- 
terested in the shi)iping 



"GKIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PHCENIX. 



67 




Mrs. Movir, Photo. MRS. JOHN HISHOPS RESIDENCE 
(Old Photo.) FAR.M RESIDENCE OF JOHN HISHOP. 

business and for a unmber of years bad an office 
in New York every .summer. His winters were 
spent in Pboenix and be occupied bis time super- 
intending tbe building of canal lioats, of wbich he 
was tbe owner of several which he utilized in bis 
forwarding business to New York. 

ISIr. Gilbert was held in high esteem in the 
community for bis integrity and high business 
ability. He was always one of tbe first men to 
furnish means or do anything to enhance the in- 
terests of tbe village. He built the family resi- 
dence in 18i9. He died from tbe effects of a rail- 
road accident at Potsdam Junction, N. Y., Aug. 
20, 1873. His wife survived him twenty years, 
dying Aug. 25, 1S98. 



Fred W. Hakes, the 

undertaker and furniture 
dealer, moved_to Pboenix 
from Canastota Oct. 15, 
1895, and went into busi- 
ness as a member of tbe 
Hnii of Halbert & Hakes. 
In January, I'JOl, he 
bought the interest of his 
partner and started an 
entirely new Ijusiness, in 
which he greatly en- 
larged Ibe scope of tbe 
old one and added several 
important lines, such as 
carj)ets and general house 
furnishing goods. Also 
reaching out to extend 
bis field in jterforming 
tbe last services for tbe 
dead, be procured the 
latest, modern apparatus 
commonly used l)y the 
up-to-date undertaker. 
Occupying double 
stores and two floors in 
the Dean block, with 
stable and carriage house 
in the rear, Mr. Hakes possesses accommodations 
second to no other in his hne in tbe county. Having 
taken a course and been graduated at tbe Cham- 
pion College of embalming, be holds a certificate 
that entitles him to rank with the best in the pro- 
fession. As a member of the New York State Un- 
taker's and the New Y'ork State Embalmer's As- 
sociations be comes in contact with men in bis 
jirofession having a wider field of worK wbich en- 
ables bim to obtain new ideas calculated to un- 
prove bis methods and service. Mr. Hakes was 
born at Perry viUe, Madison Co., N. Y., March 
31, 1869 and when 17 years old be entered the 
Canastota academy, a year later finding employ- 




F. W. HAKES, UNDERTAKER AM) l-'CKNITCRE DEALER. 



()K 



•(ilUI'.S" HISTORICAL SOUVEMH OF I'lKKNIX. 




iiri'icKKs i'ii!|;m x hank. 

.1. A. Ilawk-i. I'lrsiik'nt. ('. K. lliitcliinsiiii. Director 

A. W. Hawks, CashiiT. K. G. Iliitchlimon. Assistaiu <'ashiiT 

ment with .T. H. McMabon of tliiit village in his 
fiirnitvire auil iiudei'takiug establishment. For 
eight years he closely applied himself to the Inisi- 

ness until he felt eonjpeteut to make it his own 

life study. On -Tuly (i, ].S;t2 he married Cora B. 

Bortles of Canastota. 

Mr. Hakes is a iNIason, 

Odd Fellow, !Maccabee 

and a member of the 

I. O. C. T. 

The Phoenix Bank 

was organized 3Iarch J. 
LSlii), with a capital of 
SlOll.OOn, .")() per eent. of 
which was paid in as the 
requirement of the busi- 
ness demanded. There 
were thirteen directors 
fleeted who named as 
their otKeers: Samue 
Avery. piesidint; Kd- 
mund (i. Hutchinson, 
vice ])resi(lent : F.dmund 
Merry, cashier. The 
rooms occui)itd were 
those on the second fioor 
of the block nuw known 
a.s Tivola. Increasing 
business seemed to re- 
<|uiu' more coniinodioiis 
ai)artments and on Jan. 
21, l.S7;{. the bank was 
moved to the Metts lilnck, Mrs. Mnyrr, riioiii. 



:nto the r(ion:s now occupied bv O. M. 
iteilly and John 0'J!rien. I hi Jan. 1:'. 
1M74, (ieorge (J. Breed succcech'd Samuel 
.Vvery to the presidency the latter having 
resigned the position to accept tlie manage- 
ment of the Oswego and Onondaga Insur- 
ance ("o. On Sept. 7, 1.S74, the vacant lot 
at the corner of Canal and Bridge streets 
was purchased by the bank and during the 
next six months there was erect<-<l the sub- 
stantial and convenient building where the 
liank opened for lmsir.es A\>vi\ 2.1, 1875. 
The death of Mr. Breed, which occurred 
Dee. 7, bS7!t, rendered vacant the position 
of president. At the next annual meeting 
.Fan l:i, ISSil. (he j.Iai-e was tilled by elect- 
ing Ivlmund (i. HutehinsoM, who in turn 
was sui'ceech'd liy Amos 1 )eau .Ian. Ill, bSSfS. 
Mr. Dean serve<l until his {le;ith which oc- 
eiirred on Dee. JO. lH'.Ki. Addison D.Merry 
was elected presulent Jan, '2>', lUiU and 
resigned Oct. :i]. IHK-t at which time Ed 
iiinnd Merry, who had served the bank as 
rashier since its oiganization, a period of 
more than '2'> years, likewise ottered his 
resignation. On the following day, Xov. 1. 
bS'.l-l the bank was reorganized and the fol- 
lowing officers elected: ('harles \V. Avery, 
pn'sident; Constant E. Hutchin.sou, vice 
|iresident; Arthur W. Hawks, cashier: 
I'cbnnnd (i. tlutchinson, assistant (Mshier. 
On Jan. !(!, 1S;)1) J. Addison Hawks suc- 
ci^eded Mr. Avery to the presidency. The 
complete list of stockholders aial directors 
now, ai'e .J. Addison Hawks, Constant E. 
Hutchinson, Arlhur \V. Hawks, Edmund G. 
Hutchinson and John C. Hutchinstm. The 
last named is a brother. Constant E. a son and 
Edmund (J. a grandson of the late I'.dmund (5. 
Hutchinson, one of the jirime movers in organiz- 
ing the bank. J. Addison and .\rthur W. Hawks 
are ne|)hews of both Edmund Merry and (iPorge 




'I'HK I'iKKM X HANK. 



•GBIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PHCENIX. 



G9 




Mrs. S, J. Mover, Photii. 

A. W. HAWKS' KESIDENCE. 

(r. Breed, each of wlicmi was largely instrunieutal 
111 meeting the re(£nire!iients of a growiiifj village 
by organizing the bank wliieli iw now nearly 34 
years olil. J. A. Hawks, president of the Phu nix 
bank, is a veteran of the eivil war — serving with 
the firil X. Y. Light Artilery. For a time he was 
coutined in Libby prison. Beside his holdings 
here the president has large iJi-ojierty interests in 
the states of Illinois uud W«shiugton. The vice 
president is. a retired merchant and eajiitalist. 
John O. Hnteliiuson at the age of 
75 is still actively engaged in 
mercantile life. The cashier and 
assistant since reorganization, as 
now, have had entire management 
of the bank. Since Decen.bef 1873 
— 29 years ago — Mr. A. W. Hawks 
has been in active employ of the 
bank, holdiuK successively the 
positions of clerk, bookkeeper, vice 
president, assistant cashier and 
cashier. liefore engaging with the 
bank Mr. Huti-hinson hud been an 
enterjirising and thrifty druggist. 

Callimachus Lodge, Xo. 3()1), 

F. & A. M., was organized and 
held its fii-st meeting January 1(1, 
lS5t3, with the following officers. 
who were the <'harter members: A. 
B. Simons, W. M. : J. C. Fnllcr.S. 
W. ; Ira Betts, J. W. ; H. B. Ru.ss, 
treasurer; Samuel Allen, secretary. 
J. F. Simons, S. D. : Reuben 
Chapman, tyler. The meetings 



were held at ( )dd Fellows Hall in the 
thii'd story of the building now occupied 
by E. C. Fitzgerald's hardware store. 
From there they went to the third story 
of the Leslie block, now occupied l>y 
Ii. ]). Latham as a tin shop and from 
there to their }ireseiit location in the 
Hutchinson block. The tir.st pro])osition 
for membership was withdrawn on ac- 
count of i)hysical disability. The second 
was accejited March 11>, ISJH, but for 
some unaccountable reason the candidate 
did not get his "third" until Oct. 1.5, 
ISIiO. The third was .Ambrose Gregg 
who was elected Sept. 10, ]85(), and 
raised Dec. '2i the same year, being the 
first person raised to the -'Sublime 
Degree." At this the annual meeting 
the officers named above were elected 
with the addition of Pardon Austin (who 
had affiliated from Military Lodge Xo. 
'215) who was made junior deacon and A. 
(xregg elected stewanl. Of the seven 
charter members not one remains. Bro. 
Oregg, the first member receive<t after 
organization, is still ali\e and well and 
his genial smile is oceasicmally seen in 
our lodije room. There have been 288 
persons raised to the •'.-sublime Degree" 
and there are now about 100 members in 
good standing. The lodge room is second 
to none in a country village of our size. 
It occui>ies the entii'e third Hour of the 
Hutchinson block. The banquet hall 
and kitchen adjommg occupy the entire 
third floors of the .\lvord block and the 
north half of the Diefendorf \- Allen 
The rooms are lighted by electricity and 
by natural gas. The main hall furniture 
is black walnut upholstered with blue ])lu.sh. 
The rnom is wainscoted in white, above which is 
a handsome blue ingrain j)aper surmounted by a 
wide blue and white border. It has a steel ceil- 
ing painted in tints harmonizing with the side 
walls and furniture. In the east is an electric 
"G" composed of twenty incandescent ground 
glass bulbs. The regular meetings are held the 



block, 
heated 




E. C. Ill '!'( IIINSIIN'S Kl-'.SIllEXr 



70 



'GRIPS" HISTOKICAL SOUVENIH OF PH(ENIX. 



first Wetlnesdny in each month, The oftict'i-s for 
1902 were: H. 1). Fox, W. M. ; Ira P. Betts, S. W. ; 
Ir\'iu{]; S. Wood, .T. W. ; H. A. Dypart, treaMiror ; 
Cbas. AV. Tubbs, socretarv: (!hiis. ¥. Loomis, S. 
D.; Geo. C. Wood, J. i).; J. W. Dvgert, tvler; 
E. T. Jones, S. M. C: E. R. Sweet,' J. M." C. ; 
Rev. T. W. Hiuris. chajilain; R. H. Hotl'man, 
marshiiU; H. ('. Russ, E. C. (Scott and E. R. 
Sweet, trustoe.s. Tlie past masters are: A. ]!. 
Simons, Ira Betts, W. B. Howard, H. H. Smith, 



Crumli of Utica and the SyracuKe School of 
( )ptics where he took a jiost-graduate course in 
]8i)8. He is also a member of t lie American As- 
.sociation of Opticans. The result of the work 
and ex]H'nilitiires of money wliich he lia.s ])nt into 
hischoseii in'ofessiou are shown in the fact that his 
patrons are jieople livint; in (he adjacent towns as 
well as thosi' in the villaf^e, all of whom testify to 
the value of his services ami his skill in the treat- 
ment of their eves. 




.1. iri.l.KHS .IKWKLIiV ^^•r^lil'. 



.1. K\illcr. lliitlr 



R. O. Barnes. Tra (iould, G. C Withers, Chas. 
W. Hiibbs, Nadiau I'errv, .las. L. Breed, J. W. 
Loomis, Will Smitli, AlfredGould. R. D. Latham, 
H. C. Breed. 

Charles J. Fuller, the man to wlioni the peo- 
ple of I'hieiiix and vicinity go when they want 
their eyes fitted with glasses, holds certificates of his 
capability from the (leneva school of Refraction 
wliere he took a <'ourse in automatry luuler tlie 
famous \V. McCaw in ISilli, and from Dr. Win. 



.\l i> 



.1. l-'iiller. KilKi'iiver 



]\lr Full(>r was liorn in South (iranby, Oswego 
coimty, March 7, 18.58. His mother died when 
he was five weeks old and he was given to an 
aunt, Mrs. A. B. I'^iUer by whom lie wius r«'ared 
and educated and whose name he took. When 
they sold their farm in ]87:i, Mr. Fuller began 
life on his own res)ionsil>ility, working by the 
month and attending the di.strict school after 
which during a (lart of three years he attended the 
academy at Halilwiiisville, in 1877 going to work 
for 11. llowuicl of that village, to learn the trade 



'GRIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PHCENIX. 



71 




Mrs. S. J. Movor, I'liotii. 
J. L. DECKEU'S VILLAGE HOtSE. 



J. F. WINGS KESIDENCE. 



of jeweler. [ii 1881 he came to Pbieuix auil 
rented oue of the Beits stores where lie did busi- 
ness until 1888, when he erected the store where 
he is now located, which is 22x50, two stories high 
and has light and accomodations for two stores. 
It is built after modern ideas with plate glass 
show win<lows steel ceiling and private ofHees and 
rooms where he keej)s the ajiparatus and tests his 
patrons" eyes. The store contains all lines of jew- 
ehv inchidiug plated and the Gorham Whiting ster- 
ling silver ware, tbeC. Bruno musical instruuients, 
and extensive lines of jewelry of all .sorts with sou- 
venir.s as special features. He also deals in the East- 
man kodak and Rochester Optical Go's, cameras and 
sujjply goods. The engraving is done l)y Mrs. 
Fuller, whose ca|iability is .shown liy the fact that 
she took a prize in a competitiou with several en- 
gravers located elsewhere. She does the clock 
repairing iiud Mr. FiiUerthe watch work. Included 
in then' line of business which ought not to be for- 
gotten is that of Srwing machines, Mr. Fuller hav- 
ing .since he began, placed nearly a hundred of 
the Davis aud New Domestic. 

They were married in 1881. Mrs. Fuller, who 
was the daughter of Stephen Mercer of Onondaga 
Valley was brought u|.) by her sister, Mrs. George 
Morris of Baldwinsville. They have two 
children, Moi-ris L. and Harlow M. Fuller. 

Mr. Fuller is a justice of the peace,elected 
in 1895 and again in 1898. Of the suits he 
ha.s tried, one only was carried up and 
another settled. He has also served as 
assessor two terms. He is a member of the 
Odd Fellows with which he has been con- 
nected twenty years and the ^lasons. Mrs. 
Fuller is the secretary of the local lodge, 
Eastern Star. 



George Collier V/ithers, who lor 

many yeai s was engaged in the cabinet and 
undertaking business in this village was 
born in (ireenbush, Rensselaer county, N. 
Y., July 'JS, ]8:il, and in the fall of' 185(i 
came to Phienix and started the business 
on the present site of the Oliver Breed 
house, corner of Main and Bridge streets. 
Afterwards he was loi'ated on Canal street, 
at one time in the placs now occupied by 
Fred Hakes and at another uji stairs in the 
old Hausell building. When he fir.st began 
business here he manufa<'t\ired melodious, 
and it is said that his instruments were of 
the best kind for that day. During the 
several years of his busy life he had many 
partners among whom were E. B. Baker, 



W. H. Withers, his son, 
Constant Chai)man, Mrs. 
Richard Fralick and 
.Taiues Otts. On June 
2(i, 1893, on account of 
failing health he sold out 
his interest — his partner 
at that time being Mr. 
Otts — to his son-in-law, 
^\r. E. B. Baker. His 
death occurred in this 
village Aug. 13, 1894. 

He was the sou ofDavid 
and Elizabeth Withers 
and sj)ent his early days 
inNew York City. From 
there he went to Cooperstown, Otsego county, 
where he married Louisa, the daughter of WU- 
liam and Phoebe Cooper, July 25, 1852. She was 
born at Cooperstown, Jan. -1, 1831. Her falher 
and J. Fenimore Coojier, the famous novelist, 
were own cousins. She is stdl living in this vil- 
lage with her eldest child, Mrs. E. R. Baker. 
From Cooperstown Mr. Withers moved to Pho - 
nix. His marriage resulted in the liirth of four 
children. The three who are living are Anna 
May (Mrs. E. B. Baker), Ixun May 4, 18.53. Wil- 
liam H., born October 28, 1851, and Horatio 
Seymour, born Nov. 18, 18(12, all of whom are 
residents of Phcenix. Emma Jane, deceased, diea 
May 27, 1872, 14 years of age. 

Mr. Withers was a respected and esteemed citi- 
zen aud was repeatedly elected to positions of 
trust aud responsiliility, amf)Ug which were jiresi- 
deiit, trustee and assessor of the village. He was 
a lifelong and unswerving democrat and was 
among the foremost in the councils of his party. 
He was an enthusiastic Mason, and was active in 
jjromoting tiie welfare of that order. He was re- 
peatedly advanced to preside over Callimachus 
lodge and Oswego Kiver Chapter, which he did 
with wisdom and sagacity. 

(Coutiniu'd on j)iifi-c 74.) 




iE((H( 
ANN 



iE CULLIEK WITHEKS. LDIISA COOrElf \VITHEIi.'< 

LLOYD niLI.IEU liAKEK. 
A WITHEUS UAKEK. EDWIN H. UAKER. 



HiUll'S' UlSTOKICAL HOUVENIK OF PH(KNIX. 




Mrs. 



. .1, MoyiT. PliDtr 



MliS. H. A. VOINC'S KKSIDKNCK 



W. H. Je ininss, til ■ oiilv cxc-lusivc' lioot and 
shoe ilealei- in Pliu'iiix, licf>aii Imsiness in this 
\'illiige in iho spring- of LSSli, us a partner with H. 
I). Merriaiu iu the ulothinj; trails in the builtlintj 
now occupied by the post oHice. In the spring of 
1887 Mr. Jenning.s sold ont his interest and 
opened a shoe store iu tlie Kparrow block. This 
was then as it is now the only ]ilace of liusiness 
dcaliug exclusively iu that line, and was consid- 
ered a doubtful venture uutil its success was 
demons rate 1 by Mr. Jennings. Trade increased 
to the extent that better tpiarters were demanded 
and ten ye.irs later. 18(7, M r. .lenuings bouglit 
tlie Wolf hotel ])ro]ierty, a two story building on 
Canal street, and by remodelling the premises se- 
cured not only a cominodioii- store witii plate 
glass front but suites of living rooms on the 
second floor and in the rear for the use of tenmts. 
In -Tuly, 181)7, he moved into the new store and 
from that time on he has been able to give the people 
■ if the village a large and comprehensive line of 
toot wear. 

Mr. Jennings was born in Palermo, Oswego 
Co.. N. Y., June 127. 18t'.l. His father, Oliver 



Jennings, came to this county 
from Connecticut, in 181t), 
when Hi years old and as- 
sisted in clearing land on 
which his father, Thomas 
Jennings, a farmer settled. 
Ill ISJt; hi' married Louisa 
Smith who was born in 
CoblesUill, Schoharie ('o..N. 
v.. in 1818. anil their child- 
ren wen' Orlev, Orville, 
Alary J., W. H.". (leorge I. 
and Arthur, (ieorge T. is a 
iTsiilent of Clift<in S]irings, 
Ontario Co., N. Y. The 
I it hers reside in Palermo, 
With the exception of W. H. 
Till- latter niter he wjus 
thiiteen years old attended 
s:'liool winters working on a 
farm .'uinmers including 
three teims in the Mexico 
ac idemy. ^Yhen 18 years 
I lid he began teaching in 
raleriiio which continued 
over the period of twelve 
vears during winter terms 
'only. On Dec. l27, 1870 he 
married Angelinc .\i-kley. nf F'arish, by whom 
there was one child. Uosa li., and who died two 
years after her marriage. ()ii March 1."), 1874, he 
married H.ittie C. Morsi- of Hastings, a union 
which has been blessed with three children, l.ulie 
L. (Mrs. Rice) of Washington. X. J., Lina C, iu 
the Junior year at the Syracuse University and 
W. H. Jennings Jr. 

Soon after his secund marriage Mr. Jennings 
liought a farm in Hastings which he sohl in the 
spring of 1882 to engage in mercantile jmrsuit at 
that village. In the spring of 1885 he sold out 
and went intobusiuessat Miinnsville.Madison Co., 
X. Y., where remained until the following Xoveui- 
ber, moving from that pi ice to Pluenix. The 
same year he came here he bought a lot on Main 
street and erected the dwelling — his jiresent home. 
Mr. Jennings has been clerk of this town a year, 
justic 1 of the peace four years and notary for 18 
years. He has made a specially of drawing up 
jiensiou pajiers and hius aided many a deserving 
veleran to secure a jiension. He has also en- 
gaged largely in drawing up conveyances, deeds 
and mortgages. He is a mi'iiib.'v of llu' Masonic 




\V. II..Iiiinini:s 



«■. II. .IF.NNIM^S' slliiF. .sTiiKi;. 



\V H. .Iiiiniii.--!. .li. 



'GRIP'd" HISTORICAL SOUVENIK OF PH(ENIX. 



73 




DI'FFV SII.K I'll. lUU.DINIi AM) WA'I'HIi I'UWI 

loilK'f, (if wiiicli be is the secretary, of the Mac- 
cabees where he oceupies the position of record 
;iad fiuiiuce keeper and of the Tribe of Ben Hur, 
National Protective Le}j;iou. 

The DuJIy Silk Co., with mills at Fort Plain, 
Hutl'alo and Ph mix. was organized in 18S1'2 and 
incorporated in 1902. The members of the com- 
pany are Charles G. DntiV, Bernard Uufify, A. F. 
Xellis and George Dufty. A. F. Nellis, the secre- 
tary and treasurer of the company, is the resident 
member and manager of the Phoenix mill. The 
work is lijiht, clean and healthful and employment 
is given to a large number of girls and boys. It 
is one of the bright and busy places in Phoenix 
and is well worth a visit, which 
owing to the rule excluding visitors 
in the day time, can be made pe'' 
arrangement alnio.st any evening: 
This factory is a model for lighj^ 
and cleanliness. Broad, hig 
v.indows and very high ceilings 
atf'ord an abundance of fresh air 
and veutilatio'i. The young peo- 
ple who work here never need to 
lose time. The factory runs day 
and night. It is a splendid place 
for the em])loyment of young 
winnen as the cheerful faces of 
those who are here attest. It is 
one of the iustitulions which a 
community most highly values. 

The unwinding of silk from 
cocoons dates back to from K!.")!! tii 
170(1 B. C, when the wife of the 
Chinese emperor iutri)diu"ed silk 
loth made from tlie tilaiiient spun 
by worms, for the official i-obcs of 
the royal family. The Chiuesi- 
guarded the secret thousands of 



years and it was not until 500 A. D. that 
the worm was introduced in Europe. The 
silk worm when first hatched from the egg 
weighs about one one-hundredth grain. 
After about 30 days feasting on the mul- 
berry leaf followed by a fast of ten days it 
is supposed to be full grown, weighing 
about (SO or 90 grains. Its silk glands are 
then filled witli a clear viscous iinid which 
upon being exposed to the air immediately 
hardens into a very line silken filament 
which the worm spins to tlie length of aliout 
3-500 feet occupying about three days in 
this task. Then it i-haugcs to the papa 
which under suitable conditions develops 
the moth, whose eggs in turn produce tue 
silk worms, thereby completing the circle of 
evolution. The silk filament can be used 
only liy unwinding it from the cocoon and 
it is doubled many times to form even the 
very finest threads — such as are received at 
the mills of the Duti'y Silk Co., where the 
threads are wound, twisted, d lubleil and 
reeled preparatory to being sent to the 
dyers, after which they are ready for the 
manufacturer. Four thousand worms are 
required to make a pound of silk. The 
Dutt'y company in the three mills uses over 
6,000 pounds a week so that to su|jply this 
firm alone 24,000,000 worms are sacrificed 
weeklv. 



Driving Distances of Phcenix from 
points in the county in miles and tenths over most 
natural routes: AmboyCenter 23.2; Bei'nhardts Bay 
29.2; Caughdenoy 6.7; Eedfield Square 38; Central 
SqU!U-e 10; Cleveland 24.3; Colosse 19.2; Con- 
stiintia 18.3; Fulton 9.0; Gilliertsville 6.8; Granby 
Center 12.2; Hannibal 18; Hannibal Center 16.4; 
Hastings 16; Hinmanville 8.2; Hohnesville 23; 
Hulls Corners 15, Mexico 17.3; New Centreville 
31,3; New Haven 14; Orwell village 36.3; Oswego 
22; Oswego Falls 9.2; Palermo 9.9; Parish 19.1; 
Pulaski 27.8; Sand Bank (Altmar) 30.8; Seneca 
Hill 15.7; Scriba Corners 19.5; Texas 20.8; Ver- 
million 18.6; Volnev Center 8.(i; Sandv Creek 
35.8; West Ambov 23.2; Williarastowu 28.8. 




iUI'I'V .slI.K 111, SIMNMXC IIK.r.\l!TMi;NT. 



74 



"GRIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PIKEMX. 




H. 1). FOX. 

Hiram D. Pox tb(^ proprietor of the Windsor 
House, liought the hotel from Leivis Ostrancler 
and took possession iu September, 1885. Since 
then several hundreds of dollars have been ex- 
pended in enlarging and improving the property, 
and the ehiiracter of the hotel and the manner iu 
which it is conducted are on a plane corresponding 
with that of the best in the county. The build- 
ing to begin wiih, has been raised from two to 
three stories. 1 he rooms tliroughont are newly 
ilei-ornted and furnished in the liest manner. A 
steam lieating jilunt and hot and cold water, to- 
gether witli electric lights and natural gas heaters, 
have been installed. The otiice and bar are fitted 
U)) in a nu)de)ii way. The opera hou.se adjoining 
the hotel has also lieen renovated and the stage 
enlarged to double its former ca])acity, a second 
story corridor having lieen constructed to connect 
tlie stage and dressing rooms with the hotel. The 
cuisine and care of the rooms are under the per- 
sonal diiection of ^Irs. 
Fox whose skill and ex- 
cellent management have 
proven indispeus .ble. 
Mr. Fox, the son of John 
Fox, was born in Clay, 
Onondnga county, N. Y.. 
Aug. 28, 1813, and until 
he was '22 years of age 
he followed farming. 
About a year later, in 
May 181)7, he was married 
to Mary Eno of Bidguim 
by ivhom there are two 
children, John 1). of 
Seattle, Washington, and 
Hortense (Mrs.Hurslailzi 
now living in Oswego. 
Leaving the farm Mr.Fox 
engaged in boating on 
the Erie canal, drawing 
ffrain from IJuffalo to New 
York. This he tolloweil 
for eiglit years, when lie 



and his brother-in-law, 1. L. Eno started in the 
coal business in Phoenix which they carried on 
six or seven years. They then constr\icted in this 
village the passenger and freight packet, J. I. 
Van Doren, which Mr. Fox for seven years ran 
daily between Fulton and Syracu.se. In May, 
1887, he married Carrie E. Payne of Phctnix. and 
they have one sou, Ira P. Fox, who is bookkee])er 
in a bank at Sibley, la. Mr. Fox is one of the 
democratic^ workers of the town who has attended 
county and di.strii't conventions as a delegate; and 
who has .served two terms as as.sessor, fiuir years 
as justice of the peace and in 1878 a.s sui)ervisor of 
the town. He is an active member of Callima- 
chus Jjodge, No. Hfiil, F. & A. M., with which he 
has been connected 21) years, having occ\ipied the 
ofhces of J\inior and Senior Wiirden and for the 
past six years that of Master. 



^<'<>ntimii'ii fT'oin j>a;re 71.) 
Edwin Boyd Baker, manufacturing machin- 
ist and cdntractor, has lieen engaged for several 
years in the perfe<'tion and production of various 
])rotected hardware sjiecialties ami machinery, 
among which is a comjilete line of cigar box 
machinery. Recently he has perfectid an attach- 
ment for a hot air furnace, which by practical 
o])eration has shown that tlie volume of heat is 
increased by i') ))er cent, without any additional 
consumption of fuel. This is one of the crowning 
prodiu-tions oi his mechanical genius which he is 
preparing to place in the market all over the 
union and which will be of incalcuhible value. 
Jlr. Baker was born in Jacksonville, Onondaga 
conntv, June 2.!, 18.'>;i, the son of Truman and 
Clarissa Beckworth Baker. When he was four 
years old his parents moved to the town of Han- 
nibal, Oswego county, wheiv they resided nine 
years, when they again became residents of Jack- 
sonville, two years later locating on the (Gilbert 
farm in the town of Schrappel. Then, at the 
age of 15 years, Edwin entered the ai'ademy in 
this village. In the fall of 1878 he entc'red the 
employ of A. W. Sweet k Co., ca.sket manufac- 
turers. On Feb. 24, 1875, he married .\nna ^I.. 
the daughter of (ieorge Collier Withers ami the 
following year he went into the furniture and 




I'll i; w iNlisui; iidTK 



'QBIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PH(ENIX. 



75 



undertaking bxisiness with his father-in-law and 
brother-in-law, William H. Withers. On Jan. 1, 
1880, he withdrew from the firm and entered the 
emjiloy of the late Dr. Samuel Avery, making 
cigar boxes and cigar box machinery. During 
the time he was with Dr. Avery, he also filled the 
position of travelling salesman, visiting nearly 
every town of any considerable size this side of 
the Mississippi river and placing the machinery 
that was manufactured at this ])lace. On Jan. 1.5, 
1887, he formed a co-partuersliip with Charles H. 
Deunison and the two purchased the cigar box 
machinery business of Dr. Avery. They removed 
the jilaut to the building in which Mr. Baker is 
at present located where they continued the man- 
ufacture and sale of this machinery until AprU 1, 
1899, when he purchased the interest of Mr. Deu- 
nison and after that carried on the business alone, 
(hi Jan. 20, 1893, he bought the interest of his 
father-in-law m the 
bu.siness of G. C. 
Withers & Co., and 
the firm name was 
then changed to 
Baker & Otts. He 
retired from the firm 
April 8, 189.J, selling 
out his interest to 
Fred Marvin of Syra- 
cuse. During the 
time that he was in 
company with Mr. 
Otts he was one of 
the trustees of the 
New York state un- 
dertakers' associa- 
tion, taking an active 
part in the delibera- 
tions of that body 
where he rejiresent- 
ed the county t as- 
sociation. Mr. Baker 
until the lust admin- 
istration of President 
Cleveland, when the 
j)arty's ])Obitiou on 
the tarift' (juestion 
was not in accord 
with his own con- 
victions, was a dem- 
ocrat, holding the 
office of town clerk 
in 1881 and after- 
wards th'it f)f assessor. He is a member of the 
local masonic order being the present secretary 
of the chapter. 

Lloyd Collier, the only child of Mr. and Mrs. 
Edwin Baker, was born in Phteni.t July 7, 1877, 
and attended the public schools of tbat village. 
Mr. Baker has been engaged in compiltug 
county histories and is at the present time a trav- 
elling .salesman. 

Frontenac Was Here in ](>9(i and caaiped 
on the site of the present village of Phoenix. On 
July 31, ascending the river with over a thousand 
French and five hundred savages from beyond 
the great lakes, Ottawa and Michimillimack, the 
Marquis la Comte de Frontenac found his pro- 
gress arrested at the foot of rifts over which the 
river tumbled for a quarter of a mile. Here were 
traces of Indian encampments which he was 




OFFICKK8 I'H<KNIX BO.\KD OK TK.\DE. 1903. 

¥. \V. Hakes. I)iiTcti>r H. D. Mcniam, Director 

E. Kiiss, Treas. A. P. Mei-riam, Pi-cs. A. C. Parker, 



assured by hia guides were occupied twice a year 
by the six nations who came here for fish. A 
half century before, the Jesuits had found an In- 
dian village of fishermen here. FrontensK^'s jjarty 
consisted of four battalions of milita from Quebec, 
Beaupre, Three Rivers, Canada and Montreal, 
with two l)attahons of regular troops in advance 
and two in the rear. On the river was a flotiUa 
of canoes carrying stores and ammunition. The 
Indians thronged the camp like evil birds of pas- 
sage, beating the woods on all sides seeking signs 
of the Iroquois whom the French desired to at- 
tack and destroy. Then there were the French 
trappers of the interior, drt.ssed in skins, as much 
to be feared as the savages. The decorated pavil- 
ions of the French commander and his officers 
rose from the midst of the temporary bark cover- 
ings of the militia, on high ground covered with 
large pines several yards from the east Ijauk of 
the river. The same ground is now a beautiful 

residential part of 
the village of Phoenix 
crossed north and 
south byMain street. 
The Marquis had 
been advised that 
here was to be found 
an abundance of fish 
and less than a league 
distant he would 
come to the forks in 
the stream [Three 
Rivers] where his 
progress might be 
disputed by the 
Oneida and Ononda- 
ga Tmlians. So he 
had ordered a halt 
here, encamping the 
advance troops un- 
der Monsieur de 
CaUieres on the west 
side of the river and 
ordering up from the 
falls[ Oswego] belo^^■, 
the rear guard under 
^lonsieur de Vaii- 
dreuil. The ascent 
of the river had 
been made with 
great difficulty. "It 
would lie useless,"' 
wr tes the chroni- 
cler, "to attemi.1t to 
describe the rapids of this river. The difficulties 
could not be understood, since by marching from 
morning until night five leagues only [from lake 
to falls] could be made in two days." One night 
was siient here in cam]) and on .-Vug. 1 the regulars 
were advanced up stream, with M. de Vandreull 
an<l most of the officers at their head, being "de- 
tatched beyond the river which goes to Oneida'' 
and making "more than five leagues in roads u|) 
to the knee." Then the main body struck camj) 
and followed. "Nothing was met during this 
day's march except the description of onr army 
drawn on bark after the manner of the savages, 
and two bundles of cut rushes which signified 
that 1434 men a'companied us." The battalion 
commanders of the troojis were Sieurs de la Dur- 
antaye, de May, de (Jrays and Dumesuil 
and of the militia, Sieurs de Saint Martin, 
de Orandville, le Graudpere and King's At- 



76 



■(iUIl'S" IIIsroUICAL SorVKNIK OK I'lKENIX. 



torney Deschninlninx of Montival. The expe- 
dition ii'iiclu'J ( )uondiif;a lake uinl efiV-eted a laiid- 
iug witliout meeting the Irocjnois. On the highest 
])omt of gi'ouiiil near the present village of Liver- 
jiool tliev erected a fort used as a base from whieh 
the Freneli moved against tlie Onondagas and 
( )neidas, driving lioth from tlieir villages which 
they destroyed, and compelling them to make 
])eaee. The army returned down the river on 
August 10 and 11 reaching the lake (m the 12th. 

The Kinfi's D<iughtcrs Society of the Con- 
gregational church (Consists of thirteen members: 
Miss Marie L. Oerhardt, ])resident; Lula Merriam. 
vice president; M. Algenia P.hoiles, secretary; 
T^eua K, I'atchen, treasurer; Ferue Buttes, lUioda 
Hazard, (lertrude Wilson, Sarah K. Rhodes, Fan- 
ny Kalar, Kva Ostrander, Laura IManning, Louise 
Manning, Hulilali (landee. The society was or- 
ganized in the year I'.IDO for tlie purpo.se of dieer- 



tlic juuctiipi] iii tlic Seneca, ()iicid:i :nid ()^wcgo 
rivcr.^ with Oneida lake descril)ed by C'hami>lain 
to tlie e.-vst, and Salt hike to the south. The coun- 
try lying between these two lakes is marked on 
this ma]) "Ilirscois." intended for Troi|nois. As 
will ajipcar further on ('ham|)laiu's own descrip- 
tion veriti'S this interpretation of this luap. 

('hami)lain in lliu;) liad discovered and i x|ilored 
the lake which be;a's liis name. Six years later, 
following the unbeaten tracks north of the (ireat 
Lakes he jienetrated the then unknown regions 
westward into the country of the llurons striliing 
the .shores of the lake bearing that name. Tlien 
he returnccl east accomjianied by a considerable 
force of thai nation who were then at war with the 
Senecas, the mo.st western of the Five Nations of 
ln<lians. Skirting the north shores of the lakes 
as far as the present site of Kingston, he embarked 
at that i)oint and crossed I^ake Ontario, "proceed- 
ing southward. "as he wiites, "towards the enemies 
f froipioisf country," (lis jmssage across what he 




rill-; KINGS 

I. Miss Marie C.ilieioilt. !,■ Miler; :.'. Mii 
t. Miss I.ri.a PMlehen..-.. Miss lih.i.lii llazii 
Kstianilrr. s. .Miss Sanili Hlii^ili s. '.i. Mis-s V 

'ng the sii'k and aged in Phtenix l)y visiting and 
c iri'ying fruit and flowers to them; al-o for re- 
lieving tlie ])Oor in numerous ways, and for send- 
ing flowers to the hosiiitals. They bear the royal 
colors of purple and white; their motto: "Fn His 
Xame." 

Champlain on Oswego River, 1315 — That 

this remarkable expedition led by the French 
courtier Champlain when he was goveru(U' of New 
France in Uil."), cro.ssed the Oswego river going 
into the Iroquois country, and even encam))ed on 
its shores upon its return not far from, if indeed 
not exactly upon, the site of tlie present village of 
I'ha-nix. is a f let wliich few historians will dispute. 
The authority for this statement is C'haniplain's 
map of New France, i)ublished in lli:i.', u)ion 
which tlie route ln' pursued is plainly traced by a 
ilotted line. While no names a|)]iear to designate 
the rivers and interior lakes, the Oswego river is 
clearly mark-d conn cting Ijake Ontario with the 
chain of New York's wi'stcrn lake-', even showing 



l).\l(iMTi:ii.s. 

<s l.eila >rerfiarn. :». Mi^s ttiildnli t'andee, 
r<l. ti. Miss (J'-Hrinle Wilson. 7. Miss l-^va 
. itie Hint., III. .Miss ,\lKeiiia Ulioiles. 

calls l.-ike of the Entouhouorons [Huron term for 
Ontario], during which he noticed "some beauti- 
ful nud very large ishuids, ' he estimated to be 14 
leagues [i'i miles], which corresponds to the dis- 
tance from Kingston to Salmon river. "We con- 
tinued our journey overland," he writes, ".some 
"i.") or 'M leagues," the distance, following the dot- 
ted line on his map, from Salmon river to lake 
Canandaigua, where he attacked an Iroipiois fort 
and aftersix days was comiielled to retreat. Land- 
ing at Salmon river "the Indians concealed all of 
their canoes in the woods near the banks." Then 
the purty directed their course southwesterly, 
traveling "four leagues over a sandy jilain."' They 
were cro.ssing the heart of what is now Oswego 
county, which Champlain di'scribc* as follows: 
"[ ob.served a very i>leasiiig and fine country, 
watered by numerous small streams, and two little 
rivers which empty into the siid lake | Little Sal- 
mon and ( Irimlstone creek. Had he landed north of 
Salmon river he wnuld have cros.si;d more rivers 
worthy of mention I ; and a number of ponds and 



'GRIP'8" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PHOSNIX. 



prairies where there wa< an infinite quantity of 
of g;ime, a great many vines, and fi -e trees, vast 
nuuiliers of eliestunts, the fruit of w Uieli was yet 
in tlie sliell. It is quite small and well flavored." 
He evidently refers to li.j.eehniits [unkuowu to 
Europe, nsj u large q lantity of which were once 
found in Oswego (.■ounty. It was in September, 
1(315, that he reached and crossed the Oswego 
river. He writes that he "traversed oue river is- 
suing from a lake wliich enqities into thnt of the 
Entouhonorous" (plainly Oneida lake] which he 
WTites "is 2') to :?l) leagues hi circu.nfereuce, with 
many beautiful islands and is the Iroi[Uois ti-ihiug 
ground, tish beiuK in abnudance there." 

Some historians ha\-e located the fort he attacked 
in the Oneidas' countrv, others in that of the 



camps. The ne.xt day tU^y reached Salmon river 
and embarked for Canada. 

Alpha Theta is a literary society among the 
young ladies of the High school. Only those who 
hive completed the first year's work are eligible. 
The society was organized in the fall of 191)1) for 
the i)urpose of promoting the social interests of 
the school and to help its members along literary 
lines. One of the great benefits is that most es- 
sential acquirements, self-possession when one is 
called upon to sjieak in public. The programs 
consist of debates, jjlays, recitations, essays, char- 
ades, music, etc. The society entertains the 
young people of the village several times a year. 




ALPHA THETA SOCIETY, I'IKKNIX HIGH SCHOOL. 
1, Francis Asli, President; 2, Leua Patchen, Vice-President; 3, Blanche Sweet.Secretary; -l.Nora Kegan, 
Treasurer; .i. Sarah Rhodes, li, Florence House, 7, Cicrtrude Wilson. S. Ethel Walters. 9, Winifred Smith, 
10, Lucy Butts, 11. Martha Sweet, 12, Mary Pcnderjiast, 13, Ethel Butts, 1-t, Edna Corey, 15, Fern Butts, 
Iti, Lelhi Merrimau. IT. .Vnna Andrews. Is. Louise Viclicry, 19, Neva Drury, 20, Hhoda Ha/.ard, 21, Jessie 
Butts. 22. Eniina Peinleryrast. 23. Anna Teal. 21. lii'ssie Greti'sr. 2.i, Carrie Denton. 21). Goldie Cathcart, 27, 
Algenia Rhodes, 2S, Lois Hawks, 29, Minnie .lohnson, 30, .lennie VanDusen, 31, May Gret'K, 32, Satie 
Huntley. 



Ouondagas'. After studying his mav no one can 
reach such conclusion except on the theory that 
he has incorrectly located the lakes which hi' 
pas.sed — a theory not tenable since he iiroiierly 
locates both Oneid land Ojiondaga lakes ami marks 
the courte he I'ollowed as leading westward beyond 
the chain of Western New Yf)rk laLes, 

On the llJth of October. beiiiK unable to capture 
the fort he started l)ack, ba<lly wounded and car- 
ried most of the di.stan.-e in 1) iskets made by the 
Indians. Retracing its cour.se to the Oswego river 
which was reached on the bSth in alilinding snow 
storm, "the sno>v melting. ' he writes, "as fast as 
it fell," the party <'rosseil the stream and went 
into camp. This mu.st have been right here wliere 
riiieuix is now located, and where the .Jesuits and 
other parties of the French years after made their 



The otticers are France-; Ash, president; Lena 
Patchen, viae president; Blanche Sweet, secretary. 

The Post Oiiice was established Jan. 20, 1830, 
with Seth W. Burke as postmaster. His successors 
were: Joshua 'SI. Rice, appointed July 3, 1841; 
Jo.seph K. Brown, Dec. 19, ISil; Edwiml Baxter, 
Dec. 14, 1S48; Joshua SL Rice, June 9, 1849; 
Wilburn Hale, May lil, 18o3; Uziali Conger, May 
•Jl. IS,")."); Andrew Baird, Dec. 14, 18J5; Francis 
David, .Tune 2, iH.Jll; .losepli Hanclu tt, March 12, 
bstil; Davis Conger, Mav 19. 18<')9;C. E. Hutchin- 
son, Nov. ;i8, LSTl; H. A. Dvgert, .April 21, 1874; 
Fred \V. Alvord, Sept. 21, 1 88."); J. M. Williams, 
June 21, 1.S89; Frank K. Avery, Feb. 21, 1895; A. 
P. Merriam, Mav 19, ISi'S; reappointed .Tune 12. 
1902. 



78 



"GRIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PH(ENIX. 




MRS. JANE (illJ.F.TTE MEKIUAM. ALLEN MEHKIAM. 

Allen Merriam was born in Delaware county, 
X. Y., Oct. 4, 1823. In his younger years bi.s 
)jai'ents, Harvey and Polly Merriam descendants 
of the original English family of Merriams who 
settled iu Connecticut, moved to Cicero, ( )nondaga 
county, which was the home of Allen Merriam 
until the fall of \M'> when he went to Clitlbrd, 
N. Y., to engage in mercantile business which 
from 18(il to that time he had been cai-rying on in 
Cicero. He engaged iu a prosperous business at 
Clifford for upwards of twenty years and then sold 
out to his son-in-law, Mr. Frank Young, after- 
wards living a retired life at Clif- 
ford, with the exception of a year 
and a half at Pho nix, until his 
deatli, which occurred May 9, 
moo. He was a great reader, es- 
])ccially of occult and scientific 
works and was naturally of a 
modest and retiring disposition but 
fearless in advocating what he 
thought was right. His integrity 
was never questioned and he en- 
joyed the esteem of all. (.)n Sept. 
],'l851, he married .laneS. Gillette 
who gave him nine children, eight 
of whom are living— Mrs. Celiiida 
M. Young of Clifford, N. Y., Mrs. 
Ida .T. Moore of Palermo, N. Y., 
;Mrs. Belle P. Jennings of Clifton 
Springs. X. Y., Albert P. and 
Herman U. of Phanix, N. Y., 
Watson H. of Pennellville, N. Y., 
William T). of Syracuse, X. Y., and 
Edward A. of S])ringlield, Mass. 
Mrs. Allen ]\Icrriam, a woniaii of 
high character, strongly devoted 
to her family and ever ready to 
a.ssist the sick and needy, had a 
large circle of friends who found 
her a true friend, prompt to re- 
spond to many i-alls night and 
day, and askillful nurse. Slie was 
the daughter of Watson and Milic- 
eut Gillette and was born iu Cicero, 
X. Y., March 18, 18:i:! Ilerd.'ath 



occurred April 28, 1902, and she was laid to 
rest beside her husband in Phnenix Rural 
cemetery. 

Albert P. Merriam, the postmaster of 
I'll mix, ajipointid by President McKinley 
'Sliij 10, 1808. and rea]>pointed by President 
P.oosevelt June 12, 1902, is also president 
of the Pliicnix Board of Trade, two years 
ago elected to that jiosition iu recognition of 
his public .spirit and zeal iu behalf of local 
growtli and inij)rovement; and on Dec. Ifi, 
1002, re-elected because of his liberal con- 
rilmtion of personal effort to .secure new 
industries for Phcenix. He was born in 
Cicero, Onondaga (,'o., Sept. (i, 185H. and 
was twelve years old when his j>arents, Al- 
len and Jane i\Ierriam, moved to Clifford, 
N. Y. In the spring of 1871! he went to 
Mexico, X. Y., to learn cheese making and 
two years later returned to Clitl'ord and 
there l)uilt a factory which he ccmducted five 
years, selling it to his lirother Watson H. at 
tlie time he came to Phcenix, iu the spring 
. f 188:). Then he bought the Phcenix cheese 
factory which he has since managed with 
succe.ss. Mr. Merriam served as village 
trustee 1889-90 and was itresideut of the 
village in 1895. In 1892-'5 he represented 
the town of Schroeppel on the board of 
supervisors and made an enviable record in his 
work as legislator, especially in exercising his in- 
fluence for economy in public exjienditures. On 
Sept. I), 1875, Mr. Merriam was married to Emo- 
gene, the daughter of Sylvester Auringer, an old 
resident of Palermo who lost his life in the battle 
of Gettysburgh. Her maternal giandfather was 
Garrett Blankman, an old sea captain from Hol- 
land who finally became one of the early settlers 
in Oswego county. Mr. and "Sirs, ^b rriam have 




Mlis, 



.MKINCKK Mi:HlilAM. 

A. W. MEKItlA.M. 



Al.lil'.liT 1'. MKItUI AM. 



'GRIP'S" HISTORICAIi SOUVENIR OF PHCENIX. 



79 




HEIiMAN D. MEKUIAM. 

one son, A W. ^Meriiam who is engaged as ii trav- 
eling salesman. 

Herman D.Merriman, the well known Phoenix 
clothier who has carried on that business continu- 
ously in this village since Ajiril 1, 1881, when he 
came here to make it his home, was for the Ave 
years prior to that time a teacher, coming here 
from Oswego Falls where he was i>rincipal of the 
graded school. Thus it was that he acquired the 
more than ordinary knowledge res))ecting school 
methods which has been of service to the present 
board of education, of which he is a member. 
Mr. Merriam from the beginning, has taken an in- 
terest in such matters as in his opinion would 
jiromote the growth of the commuuity and sub- 
sequently being chosen as one of the directors of 
the Board of Trade has 
shared with the others the 
work of pressing the 
claims of the village upon 
outside capital. He 
served as village trustee 
from IMarch 1900 to 
Mart-h r.102. Mr. Mer- 
riam was born in Cicero, 
N. Y., Sept. 21, 18()0, and 
his early schooldays were 
in attendance at district 
and select schools, he 
<'ompleting his studies in 
the Mexii^o academy. On 
Feb. 12, 1885 he was 
married to Leah M. Sweet 
and they have one sou 
and a daughter, Wayne 
and Leah, both attending 
the public school here. 

The Junior Epworth 
League of the Metlio- 
dist Episcopal church of 
I'luenix received its 
charter Mnj 10, 1803. 
^Irs. Wesley Mason was 



the efficient superintendent for several years. She 
was succeeded by Mrs. D. W. Hooker. The pre- 
sent officers are: Sujierintendent, Mrs. H. S. 
Southal; president, Ralph Young; first vice presi- 
dent, Lloyd Jones; second vice president, Mar- 
guerite Gregg; third vice president, EUa Gntliph; 
fourth vice jjresident, June Lindsley ; secretary, 
Gerald (iregg; treasurer, Jessie Butts; lilirarian, 
Ruth Thompson. The society numljers about 
twenty five. The regular devotional meeting is 
held on Sunday afternoons at four o'clock. 

■Woman's Foreign Missionary Society. — 

On Blay 18, 1888, through the eflbrts of Miss A. 
F. Noble, city missionary of Syracuse, a society 
to be known as the Woman's Foi'eign Missionary 
society of Phoenix M. E. church was organized 
with Mrs. Silas Ball, president; Mrs. A. W. Hawk.s, 
first vice jiresident; Mrs. Robert Simpson, second 
vice president; Mrs. Wm. Joslyn, third vice jiresi- 
dent; Mrs. F. H. Fox, recording and correspond- 
ing secretary ; and Mi's. Blary Breed, treasurer. 
This society continued for nearly two years when 
it lapsed. On May 12, 1895, through the influence 
of the pastor Rev. Wesley Mason, Mrs. Easter 
secretary of the 0. N. Y'. Conference W. E'. M. S. 
occupied the puljiit during the morning service 
after which she reorganized the present society 
with Mrs. W. Ma.son, president, and thirty-four 
members. This society still exists with growing 
interest and increased numbers. The present 
officers are: Miss EUa Gregg, president; Mrs. H. 
S. Southal, first vice president; Mrs. A. W. Hawks, 
second vice jiresident; Mrs. T. C. Taggart, record- 
ing secretary-; Mrs. J. Smith, corresponding 
secretary; Mrs. C. J. Fuller, treasurer. 

The First Wedding in Schrceppel was that of 
Joseph Lamanier and Sally, the daughter of 
David Winter, which occurred the year they came 
here, 1807. A justice of the peace from Onon- 
daga tied the knot. Learning that he had no 
authority to act he the next day got the couple to 
cross the river into Onondaga county where he 
again performed the ceremony. 




II. II. )IKKIil.^\ls (LnrillNd srOKE. 



80 



■(ilMP'S' IIISToltlCAl, SOl'VKNIl; OF I'lKKNlX. 



The Union Free and High School of Plue- 
uix is oue of tli<' limliiif; ecliicatioiiul iiistitutidiis 
of Oswegd I'lmiitv, liiiviii}? a foniijcteiit facility 
imil II boiu'd of education con>i)ris:n2; tlic business 
men of the village who iire especially interested 
in giving to Phienix and vicinity the best facilities 
for instructing the youth in all liranches of secon- 
dary iiistructiou. 'I'lie school has seven teachers 
in the grades and six doing high school work. 
The board consists of IT. S. \'au Woriner, jjresi- 
dent, and O. M. Reilly, 11. 1). ;\leniatn, A. W. 
Hawkes, W. H. iMurjihy and E. A. l^dior. The 
secretary, F. ^I. Pit'icc, and trea.snrer, E. (i. 
Tliitchinson, are not iiieiubers. The uienibers of 
the board are each chosen for the term of three 
years, two going out every third year. 

The faculty for ]\M2 '.i'isas lo'llows: J. Schuy- 
ler Fox, A. H., I'lincipal. Jirowii University, Latin 
and science: Kutli L. Ward, \. li., Piece|itress, 
Syracuse liiiiversity, iMiglish and iiuitheni.-itics; 
Gertrude M. Walker, Albany Xoniial College, 



aliout a tli'iusaiid dollars 
laboratories aiiparatus of 

being iiiaiutained in the 
results, the demand for 



The liliiary contains 
worth of books and the 
about the same value. 
X training cWs is 
school with excellent 
its graduates to be enqiloycd as teachers being 
greater than the supply. The course in the high 
school de|)art:nent is outlined to meet the recpiire- 
nients of the regents of the iiiiivei>ity, the ba.si.s 
of graduation being the academic diploma of the 
Regents which is granted upon the comjiletion of 
the recpiired courses of study. These are so ar- 
r.'inged as to fully prepare students for college and 
normal school. The faculty gives due attention 
to the selection of studies for the .student who de- 
sires to complete his education here and at once 
enter upon a jiractical business life. The work of 
drawing and writing in all deiiartments of the 
school is under the suiiervision of an exi)erieneed 
teacher who gives her entire time and attention to 
that subject. The opportunity is here given to 
the student to pursue (ireek and Latin four vears 




THI^. P1I(1';.N1X I'.MU.N I'ltKl.; .\MI IIKiU SrlKllll. 



history and modern languages; Adelaide E.Launt, 
Boston Art School, drawing and penmanship; 
Vera H. Beamaii, A. B., Syracuse University, 
Unit,(^l States hist<n\v, civics and jihysical geog- 
raphy; JIary Dugau, .Vlbany Xorinal College, 
Teachers' Training Class. (irammar Depart- 
ment — Minnie .lones, I'otsdam Normal School. 
Senior Tutermediate -Alice C'. Kitts, Potsdam 
Normal; E. May (iregg, .\ssistant, Phcenix Train- 
ing Class. Junior Intermediate — Isabel N. Wil- 
liams, (!ortland Normal; Kva M. Kimball, Assist- 
ant, Phil nix Training Class. Senior Primary — 
(irace A. Hul)baid, Oswego Normal. Junior Pri- 
mary, Cerelle E. Smith, Plueiiix Training Class. 
From the time the present .school was organized 
it has been the policy of the members of ihe sev- 
eral boards, and the taxpayers, to s|)are no means 
for bringing the in.stitution U]) to the highest 
standard, and to bring in a large attendaiK'c from 
out of thr district, for which |>urpo.se all of the 
latest appliances have been obtained as fast as tin' 
means at the disposal of the Boards warranted. 



each and (ierman, English, History and mathe- 
matics three y(>ars each, together with the regu- 
lar high school work in the difl'erent sciences. 

The building, con.structed in 18(i2, is a three- 
story brick structiir(> e(|ui]iped with new and 
modern school furniture, heated with a combina- 
tion plant of steam and hot sur and ventilated in a 
perfect manner by a system recently installed. 
In INSI, at the cost of about $"),()t)l), an addition 
was erected in the rear so as to accommodate all 
of the de]iartmeut,s on two floors, saving a good 
deal of climbing stairs. This has left anijile ac- 
commodations for a gymnasium <n' additional lab- 
oratories on the third floor as may be desired. 
The grounil floor rooms are devoted to the 
grades ami on the .second floor are the high school 
ju-oper, the principal's ollice and the laboratories. 
The library and four ri'citation rooms occu]iy the 
sicond lloor of the « ing. The board and faculty, 
appreciating the value of pleasant and attractive 
surroundings for the scholars, are elaborating the 
iilan of be.iutif\ ing the interior v.ith mural deco- 



■GBIP'S" HISTORICAX, SOUVENIR OF PHCENIX. 



81 




TUK liUAKI) (IF EUl'CATKIN. 
W. H. Muipliv. F. M. Pii>rte. E. A. Tabor. 
( I. M. Kcilly'. H. S. VimWoniiiT, Prcsiiifiit. 

rations ils tiijaucial conditions permit apjiropria- 
tions for that purpose. 

The first scliool in Phcenix of which there is a 
record was in 1827, which was taught by Miss AI- 
vira Knapp. The huiidiug occniiied the jiresent 
site of H. 1). Wood's residence. About 1S411 or 
a two districts, comprised in wliole or jiart in 
tlie viUage, and divided by Bridge street were 
organized early in the history of the village. iMiss 
Payne taught select 
scliool on the second 
floor of what is now A. E. 
liuss's store. By special 
enactment of the legisla- 
ture, April 19, 18()5, the 
Phcpiiix Union Free 
school was formed taking 
in both ol<l districts, and 
this law named the follow- 
ing as the first board of 
education: Enoch H. 
Brooks, Alfred Morton, 
.1. N. (iillis, Edmund 
^Slerry, JNI. S. Ciishman 
and Gouverneur M. 
Sweef. William B.How- 
ard was the first jirinci- 
pal. His successors were 
P.. F. Stanley, B. O. 
Clajip, A.J. Kobl), Robert 
Sim})son, D. A. Preston, 
Albert W. Dyke and E.J. 
Howe. The first librarian 
was Samuel C. Putnam 
who was succeeded by 
his willow. Successive 
boards of education have 
included many )iromi- 
iient men in the village 
among whom are E. C. 
Fif/,ger:ild, Dr. Conger, 
Ira Belts, Addison Sweet, 
Hiram Fox, E. G. Hutch- 



inson, C. W. Avery, Dr. 
J. Hamil, C F. Loomis, 
M. C. Muigittroyd, N. J. 
Peudergast, G. G. Breed, 
T. (iill)ert, E. H. Hastings, 
H. C. Breed. Dr. W. H. 
Rice, W. J. Dougail, H. 
D. Wood, Samuel Flynn, 
John O'Brien; F. K. 
Avery and F. David. 

The law I of bSlif) | under 
which till! school was 
established imposed upon 
the tiist board the duty 
of establishing and organ- 
izing "a classical school 
to be Icnown Ijy the name 
of the Phtcnix Academy. " 
The academic department 
was organized and ac- 
cepted by the state re- 
gents Nov.28, 1875, under 
the name of the Ph(enix 
Union School and Acad- 
emy. In r.Ktl the legisla- 
ture passed an act, Ghap. 
23(i, by which the school 
became Union Free 

school, Dist. No 1, under the iirovisions of the 

consolidated school law of the state. 

Salary of State Officers.— Governor $10,0011, 
lieutenant-governor .^5,000; secretary of state 
$5,000; comptroller ,fG,000; state treasurer $5,000; 
attorney general $5,001); state engineer and sur- 
veyor $5,000; suiierintendent of public instruction 
.$5,000; superintendent of public works $6,000; 
superintendent of insurance $7,000; superintend- 



H. U. Mei riam 
A. W. Hawks. 




FACULTY PHCENIX UNION FREE AND HIGH SCHOOL. 

1. .1. Si-lui.\l('r Fnx, Priiiripjil: 2, Miss Mar>' Diigan, Training Dass; 'i. Miss Uutli 
L. \V;inl. l'niT|.lrrss; 4, Miss OnlnKlc .M. Walker, Assistant I'rn-i-ptress; ii. Miss 
A'eriill l{r;im:iii. .\ssistiiiit I'm-rptrtss and Lilirarian; li. Miss Adi-Iaiile E. Launt, 
Drawinji' anii WriliriK-; 7, Miss Miiiuir Junes, Ttli and 8tli (_lrad<'; 8, Miss Alice C.Kitts, 
.'itli and (jlh Grade; II. Miss Isabel N. Williams, 3d and Mli Grade; In, Miss Grace A. 
Hubbard, 1st and 2nd Grade; 11, Mrs. Cerelle E. Smith, KiuderKarteu; l». Miss E.Mav 
Gl-cKiJ-.APKistant ."illi and litlifiradc; IH.Miss D.Eva Kimball, Assistant :!dand llli Grade. 



82 



'ORIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENFR OF PHfEMX. 



anil 



03 



^ 



=^ r 






U) 



I I 
I' -I 



ent of banks, ST.lUMi: superintemlent of prisons 
.■Sli.OOO; excise coniniissiouer SS.OOO; state charity 
(•(iiiiiiiissionprs, SKI per diiy iictnal duties (limited 
lo $'M)\; sniieriiitendi'iit of state i)risons, $n, 
OIMI; railroad coiiiiiiissiouer.fS.OdO: judge of court 
of i-laiius, $."). 1)011; tax eoniiuissioner $2,5(11): com- 
iiiissioncr of af^riculture, $4,01)1): cojuniissiouer of 
lislieries and game, S2,r)00 (iiresident .<?:^,000i: 
state factory iDsjiector .$:i.O()l): lal )or arbitrator .p,- 
000; civil service commissioner $2,01)0; commis- 
sioner of lal)or statistics .'S;^,()0(). 

Indian Villaisre; Traces. Mr. W . W. Mer- 
edith of Kuclid wi'ites as follows:— "In response 
to your rcipiest for information of Indian villages 
on the Oueida river, my only knowledge is that of 
jiersoual observation. 1 have located several In- 
dian villages or canijis along the Oneida river 
from Brewerton to Three Ki^er Point. The largest 
of these IS at Candee Hill. From tlieir 
the depth of burnt 
gronnd and stone 
they must have been 
))ermanent villages. 
There are other rea- 
sons for that su|>po- 
.sitioii. From this 
point it is Init a mile 
and a half to the Os- 
\v<>go river along 
which as we know 
the Indians were 
continnally traveling 
from place to |>la<'e. 
Besides, this ])lace 
furnished a good lo- 
cation for a cam])ing 
ground, being pro- 
tected from the west 
winds by the hills 
and from the north 
winds by a dense 
swam]). Also at this 
point the river can 
be seen a long dis- 
tance both U]) and 
ilown stream. As the 
river here is tpiite 
shallow and two 
large creeks eni))ty 
into it a short dis- 
tance above, it was 
the best fishing 
ground on the Onei- 
da. There are ex- 
tensive huckleberry 
marshes in this vicinity and Indians were great 
lovers of berries." 

The Oswego Rum Traffic ( 1754) by traders 
in the middle of the eighteenth century had be- 
come so considerable that great quantities were 
carried on batteaux over the Mohawk river Oneida 
lake and Oswego river route from Albany to the 
frontier trading ])08ts. This occasioned great 
trouble witli the Indians which is described in a 
remonstrance dated Oswego June 1, 1754, to 
which 47 names were signe<l and sent to Albany; 
viz; "In ])a.s8ing the Moliawks and (lanajohary 
castles the Indians board our batteanx with axes. 
knives, etc., and by force take what rum tiny 
think proper hooping and yelping as though they 



gloried in tlu-ir depredations and threatening 
murd<'r to any that op))ose them ; and on our ar- 
rival at the great carrying place, tlie Oneida In- 
dians force our goods from us at pleasui'e to carry 
over, and not content with muking us |)ay a most 
exorbitant price for each freight but rob us of our 
rum, .stores and other goods witli a great deal of 
invective threatening language, and ai'e generally 
so numerous that we ale obliged to .snbinit to tlioM' 
impositions or run the ri.sk of being murdered and 
robbed of everything we have; an<l to put their 
schemes the better in execution they force away 
the high (iermans who g(>nerally atteml with their 
horses, that we may be under the necessity of em- 
])loying them and paying whatever they jilease to 
demand." 

First Lords of the Soil. - Cadwallader Golden 
in his histoiy of the Five Nations speaks of them 
as a "poor and generally called barbarous peo])le. 



bred under the 
A 



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S 




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,1 


l_ 


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1_ 



1 



I 



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1 

1 


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— 1 




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I 


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u 



IN 

I 


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'HL 



l)I.\(il{.\.M I IF KIRST S( HIMir, HdlSF, l.\ IMK KX I .\ 

[Tliis l)uiliiitl^r stiinil nn (lie jirouti'i nt)\\ iierupied !)>■ II. I). 

Wneil's i-csiiii-ruM — 'Die above tUa^laai was dra\vli Irntu its 

(ieseriptien in an eld wjizeteer.J 

A, Main sirecl; B. Nortli sirie; r, Kast side; I), entnuici': E. 
sciioolmaster's seat; V, sclioolniaster's dcsl<: (», seat fastened tn 
tile wall nimiiii^ areuiul tiie four sides, used l>.\' the oldest 
seholars; H. seats lot- t In- in xt yoiniyest seliolars; 1. seats for 
tile yoiiii^i'est sclioiars, without deslts; M, scholars' plain board 
deslis; N, water pail; P, stove; X, windows: doited lines en- 
close scats, fall lines enclose desks. 



larke.st ignor.ince: and yet 

bright ami noble 
genius shines from 
ill under these black 
clouds. Xoneofthe 
gi'eatest K o m a n 
heroes have dis- 
covered a greater 
love to their country, 
or a greater eon- 
teniiit of death than 
these )ieople, called 
barbarians, have done 
when liberty came in 
competition. In- 
deed, I think our In- 
iliaus have outdone 
tlie Romans in tli's 
particular. If sent 
with any message, 
thinigh it demioid 
the great st dis- 
jiatch, or though 
they bring intelli- 
gence of any inmi- 
nent danger, they 
never tell it at their 
first Hjjproach, but sit 
down for a minute 
or two, at least, in 
silence to reflect 1h'- 
fore they speak, that 
they may not show 
any degree of sur- 
prise or fear. Every 
suilden repartee in a 
pulilic treatv leaves 



I Jl 
I 



I 
I 



I 



with them an impression of a light inconsiderate 
mind; but in private conversation they use and 
are delighted with brisk, witty answers." 

Three Rivers in 1790. — In the last ten years 
of the eighteenth century Three Rivers was the 
junction of the great chaiiuels of traffic through 
the state. A writer thus describes this route; — 
"The outlets of Seneca lake, Canadarqua lake and 
Mud creek join together and form tiie Seneca 
river. * * .-Vt Three River Point it is met by 
the outlet of Oneida lake, and after [lassing 
Oneida lake the boats ascend Mud | Wood ] creek, 
from which there is a canal to unite its water with 
the Moliawk river. ♦ * Considerable quantities 
of tlour, potash and salt, are every year sent down 



'GRIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PHCENIX. 




JOHN iriiKIKN. 



y.. c. MruciTTUdVii. 



!>y tliis niivigatioii. In the begiuning of the set. 
tlfment of this country families moving in thesf 
1 mats I made to carry tons] snflfereil mucli from 
want of shelter in the night." Salt was for years 
carried to Three River where it was transhi])peil 
north, east or west by water. 

The Oswego River Paper Mills, where are 
manufactured tissue i>ai)cr iti reams and cut into 
toilet rolls, were built iu 1S.S:I l>y Edmund Merry, 
John O'Brien and M C. Murgittroyd. The for- 
mer is now dead, but his estate, together with 
Mrs. J. O'Brien and M. C. Murgittroyd are the 
owners of the mills and business. Mr. Murgit- 
troyd is the active business manager. What was 
at tir.st the production of tissue iiaper iu reams de- 
veloped a few years ago, into the cutting of the 
paper into toilet rolls 
which today constitutes 
the main part of the jiro- 
duction, sold and shipped 
in Urge quantities ti) 
jobliers in all parts of 
the linited States from 
Abiine to C'alifornia. The 
plant, rejireseuting an in- 
vestment of $r)(l,(Hi(),com- 
l)rises a three story build- 
uig with additions, liO 
feet long and 4t feet wide, 
e<pii)ipe<l with all modern 
machinery and standi' g 
on the west bank of the 
river, wljere it commands 
one-fourth of the Wiiter 
])ower of the river au<l 
where there is room and 
jiower enough to build 
another mill of the .same 
dnnensions. The present 
structure has the caijacity 
lor turning out iu nuin- 
nlactnred rolls two and 
a half tons of piijier a 
day. I'nder the per.sonal 



attention of Mr. Murgittroyd the business 
has steadily expanded until at the present 
time the mill is ran nearly to its full 
capacity. The structure is designed after 
"lodern j)]ans and is (■(pii)i]>e(l with electric 
light. Owing to the great amount of orders 
received daily as well as the nature of the 
I ilant the machinery is run day and night. 
The styles of goods manufactui'ed com- 
prehend the l)est of the line including a 
number of brands ])roduced by this mill 
alone. Mr. Murgittroyd, to whose business 
ability the .success of the plaut is due, was 
in the earlier years of his life a merchant at 
^leridan, Cayuga Co., N. Y., who came to 
Phfjenix for the exjiress purpo.se of taking a 
l)art ownership of the jilant and handling 
the business. 

John O'Brien was born iu Cork, Ireland, 
April '27, IHII). When he was 18 years old 
his parents came to this country and lived 
in New York awhile. They then moved to 
California and Mr. O'Brien in 1S55 located 
iu Syracuse where he learned the trade of 
harness maker, residing in that place until 
I860, dui'ing the summer of which year he 
lived in Troy and iu the autumn following 
moved to Springfield, Mass. From the spring of 
18151 to the summer of 1863 he was employed in 
the arsenal at Watervliet and during the ensuing 
two year-!, from 1833 to 1865 was in the arsenal at 
Washington. On April 3, 18(;7, he married Jose- 
phine, the daughter of W. Bailey, at Caughdenoy, 
Oswego Co., where for ten years he was post- 
master. In 1875 he moved onto a farm in the 
town of Schrcepi:)el and followed fai'miug untO 
1881 when he took up his residence in Phirnix. 
After locating here he built the Plueuix fcnindry 
which he still carries on. For the past 25 years 
Mr. O'Brien has [jracticed as a pension claim 
agent and is still in active practice in that line, 
having been very successful. 

In 1887 be was elected sujiervisor and held that 
office five years. He has .served as justice of the 




Till-; (iswiccii in\Ki! I'.M'i'.i; m i i.i 



.S4 



•GlJll'S" HlSTOlllCAL, SOUVEMK Oi"' PHCEMX. 



]>oiw'e fciiir years. Mr. f)'Brii'n is nn aotivo ooud- 
sclloi- in the (li'inocratif jjarty of Osnvfjo eomity 
and is tlie cliiiiriiian of the county committee of 
which he has served as seeietarv two or three 
years. He is a nienilier of several fraternal soci- 
eties in which he is i|uite active. His son, Uohert 
K., is assistant sujicrintenihiit in the OsweRo 
Kiver Paper .Mill. 

The Roosevelt Patent was ^ranteil by (he 
stjite to John and \icholas Roosevelt in .Vuj;. IT'.tl. 
It contained r)llll,(Mlll acres and the jjrico paid was 
TT.dSii |>(Minds, (! shillinf^s and S pence. The tract 
was then described as beinsj bonnde<l northerly l>y 
the .Alexander ^laconib |nirchase, easterly by Oot- 
hondl's ))ati'nt and Canada creek, southerly by 
Wood creek, the Oneida lake and Onondaga 
I Oneida] river and wtwterly by the Onondaga 
I Oswego I river and Lake Ontario. The ishiuds 
lying ott'-shore | "in front"] of the ])atent were to 
be included at H shillings and 1 penny for each 
acre. The boundary line began at the month of 
the Salmon river and ran southeast, generally 
north of the stream and east of Altiuar village; 



into the new town nf Mexico. Then the settlers 
began to come in from the east, trainjiing along 
beside the ox teams which they usually employed 
to bring along such household neces.saries and im- 
plenieiits as could not lie dispensed with. Leav- 
ing Fort Stanw ix for the nortli they jilunged into 
the woods and after bS inili's journeying leacheil 
the little halidet of Camden. Tliile they entereil 
a mere jiath through the woods ;ind traveling nine 
mil<'s without seeing any habitiition cro.ssed the 
Salmon river at lledtield, a small collection of 
huts, where they were oll'ered land at $'-i an acre. 
The '"new road" oi)ened uii to the lake in 1lie 
summer of liS02, invited them to jiroceed through 
a .stretch of '!') miles of heavy timber, where they 
hid the whole of the eastern end of Lake Ontario 
at their dis))o.sal — the land of promi.se. There a 
"manna" in the wilderness fed them merely by 
gathering it during the season — berries, currants, 
nuts. A writer who visited that section in ISOl! 
writes that "tliei'e were found growing wild 
in great plenty hops, grapes, cranberries, jiliinis, 
strawberries, gooseberries, blacklierries, rii-spber- 
ries, currants, plantain, sarsaparilla, English jiar- 




I.uiuu-d li.vC.I. Kiillri-. Till'; nsWEdo C.V.N.Vb .\ 

SiiK-c tliis itk'ttirc was taken lai-jrc inainit'at'tui'iii^'' Inii 
wliii-U is at tltu Irt't t>r till' iiictni'c— 'rlie ImsiiR-ss street of 
and river. 

thence followed the northern line of Oneida 
county to Fish Creek; thence to Canada creek and 
Wood (Ireek; thence along the north shore of 
( )neida lake and river; along the ea.st shore Os- 
wego river anil the south shore of I^ake Ontario, 
com])rising two-thirds of Oswego county and a 
third of ( )iieida county. 

Pioneers in Oswego County in LSI 10 did 

not necessarily suffer from lack of sustenance. 
The road was long and arduous but led into a 
land of jilenty, abundant in wild berries and fruits. 
The traders and settlers then came in from the 
south. Three Kivers being tlie only gateway 
whether their course was by wiitcr or land. Pass- 
ing through On(>ida Lake by craft with sail or 
draw 11 by horses, and down the Oneida river to 
Three Kiver Point, then' they foniiil liatteaux be- 
ing freighted to de.sceml to Lake Ontario or 
ascend the Seneca river to the great west beyond 
that lake. Li traveling by land they foUowed a 
mere track skirting the water route. 

Two years later a rough road wius opened from 
Camden to lledtield and then on to Lake Ontario 



Ml LUCK .\ I' l'llil:.\l .\. 

I'iinjxs lia\e l)een efeeteii hetweeii the caiiul and the river 

the villM^'e iiMisiit tile riyht hand parallel with the canal 

sley, French sorrel, peiipermint, common mint' 
catnip, thorn ajiples, Indian corn, potatoes, oats 
and tlax. Peas, beans and all kinds of production 
grow rank." 

Oswego is a i-orrnption of Ochouegen (Och- 
we-genj, the tn-iginal name given to the locality 
now occupied by the city of Oswego by the Iro- 
quois Indians. At the foot of the blntls on both 
sides of the river the Indians pitched their lodges 
and drew in large tpiantitics of fish. There they 
exchanged goods or met iu treaty with the tribes 
from the north of Lake Ontario: and later, after 
the French had found their way u]i the St. Law- 
rence river from the sea to the lake and had 
sought the villages of the Irtxpiois, they came to 
this iioiiit whence they could follow the river, 
when it was found to accord better with their 
plans not to ask for Iroipiois guide. Ochouegen, 
pronounced in th(> Indian gutteral gave to the 
French the term Chouyeu, which was the name 
they used for that locality. The Lnglish, how 
ever, caught the entirely diU'erent iironuuciatiou, 
Oswego. The river itself did not bear that name. 



'GRIP'S" HISTOKIOAL SOUVENIR OF PHCENIX. 



85 




PHCENIX TOILET AND PAPEH MANUFACTURING CO 

( )ffice Biiildirm- and Toilet Piiper Mill. 

hut rather it was Onontogue which the English 
filially pronounced Onondaga. 

The Phoenix Toilet and Paper Manufac- 
turing Company was established in 1875 under 
the name of the Phcenix Paper Manufacturing 
company which was founded by the late Judge 
Avery and a partner named .lohn Waugh, late of 
the Granby Paper Mills at FultoQ. They erected 
a building on the west side of the river, the 
structure which is now one of the two buildings 
occupied by the present comjiany. Mr. Waugh 
soon after retired. seUiug out his interest to ^Ir. 
H. D. Wood, a practical man in the business, who 
together with Mr. R. S. Hott'man today practically 
own all of the stock of the company. Judge 
Avery later on sold out to George B. Davis, who 
in turn sold to George 
Wells, now of the Victoria 
Paper Mills of Fulton. 
The latter was succeeded 
tirst by George Palmer, 
next bv W. H. Hoflfoaan 
and finally by R. S. Hofl- 
man. Then followed the 
incorporation which was 
ett'ected in 1895. In the 
following year 1891) it was 
decided to greatly en- 
large the scojje of the in- 
dustry aud the company 
purchased the large, 
three-story Iniilding ou 
the east side of the river 
owned by the Phoenix 
Toilet Paper company 
which it pquijjped exclu 
sively with machinery for 
manufacturing toilet 
paper. This building is 
.59x125 feet, with ample 
dockage on the canal and 
is equipped with all 
modern improvements. 
The company has its 



offices here, too, as being 
the best arranged and 
most convenient. The 
building across the river 
which is the place where 
the paper is manufactureil 
— the paper miU — is 190 
xl25 feet, three-storit's 
high, having been from 
the beginning several 
times enlarged. Both 
are equi])ped with steam 
and water power and 
with electric lights and 
automatic sprin k 1 e r s. 
The two water powers 
owned by the company, 
one on each side of the 
river, represent an aggre- 
gate of 699 horse power. 
Up to the time the com- 
pany purchased the new 
iniihling it had manufac- 
tured only ream tissue 
jiaper, but now the de- 
mand for its toilet produc- 
tions has swelled to sui-h 
proportions that it hiul 
to give up the first altogether; and had in addition 
to its own ])lant secured the output of the Sauquoit 
mills. The capitalization of the company is 
.$190,909, fully paid up. The officers are W. H. 
Hoft'man, president; H. D. Wood, vice president; 
R. S. Hott'man, secretary and trensurer; Irving S. 
Wood, bookkeeper. The amount of the business 
done yearly is |l59,090; the amount of daily pro- 
duction is about 159 cases of toilet pajier, or 
equivalent to about .$590 a d.ay, the mills runnuig 
seven days in the week aud shutting down once or 
twice a year for repairs. 

The product is ,all sold liy correspondence and 
it goes all over the United States, Mexico, Cuba 
and Europe and is .sold principally to i)aper job- 
bers. This ranks second or thu'd largest of the toilet 
paper manufacturing concerns in the country, 




THE ]'11(.EX1-V TOILET AND I'AI'El! MANUE.VLTU KING I'O. -Tlir Tapir Mill. 



8(i 



'(iHlPS- HISTOHIOAL SOUVENIR i)F I'HtEMX. 




C. K. llAIiCuCK'S Mi;.\l' MA ItK KT. 



('im)loyiiif; altogether 111 )<mt 7") biinds. Its pio- 
iliict is aecepted Uy the trade as the hest quahty 
(if toilet paper put on the market. Messrs. Wood 
aud Hort'jiiaii have dcmoiistrateil the value of 
energy and good Imsiness mauagetiient which 
they have iiitrodneed in this euferjirise, in push- 
ing it to remarkalile sneeess — the former one of 
the most practical men in the business heing in 
charge of the mechanical end and ^Fr. HoHiuan 
having control of the correspondence aud tiuancial 
part of the liusmes-J, he lieing especially titted for 
that end of the wcn'U through his experience with 
the Standard Oil (Jom|)auy before cuniing here. 



"Pathfinder," the her 
American uovelist Cooper 
the reader only two or tlire 
where "Magnet" the Mabh' 
while beiug escorted to 
the fort at Osw'ego b\ 
Arrowheiul theTuscarora, 
and her uncle C'harles 
Cap, first meets the title 
character (La Ijongue 
( 'arabi ne. Ha wkey e, Pat 1 1 - 
tinder) and his comiiaii- 
ion Big Serpent, the 
Delaware. Both parties 
with a small retinue meet 
in a vast expanse of wil- 
derness, brought together 
by "signs" of each <ithers 
presence. The girl and 
her companions came 
"nil" from Albany while 
l*alhfind<'r has followed 
the Otsego and Sclioharii' 
trail. JJeing convinced 
that theii' safety lies in 
reaching the river they 
join forces and, threading 
the trackless forest, are 
soon endiarked in their 
canoes, with tlaidving 
l)arties beating the woods. 
Cooper, who sj)ent .some 



o-fronti(>rsman of the 
, is first introduced to 
e miles below Ph i nix, 
! )unning of that story. 



of his early years in this 
county and whose "Path- 
tin<ler" is framed with 
accurate descriptions of 
localitieR,8ay8 of the sjMit 
where the party took to 
the boats: "The Oi.wego 
|rivt-r) just at this |)lace 
was a dee]i, dark stream 
of no great width, its still 
gloomy looking current 
windiug its way among 
overlianging trees, which 
in i)articulars]iots, almost 
shut out tlie light of 
heavens." GHdingdown 
stream they soon reach 
the falls where through a 
natural shute which 
Coo]>er says is worn out 
of the clitt's in mid-stream 
the i)arly "shoot tlic 
rai)ids." The rest of the 
stoi-y is laid at the lake. 

The Oswego River 

is the outlet for the walers 
t)f eleven lakes in Xew York .state, which pour into 
its channel l)oth from the east aud the west, 
through, respectively theOneiila andSeneca rivers, 
giving the name Three Riv(>rs to the locality 
where they unite. The lakes are Canandaigna, 
Crooked, Seneca, ('ayuga, Fi.sh, Otisco, Cross, 
Owiusco, Skaneafeles. (Onondaga and Oneida. The 
river but .!4 miles in length, from its junction 
with the other two to Lake Ontario, has a total 
fall of 121 feet. I'T feet of which is on the sti"etch 
of less than lli miles of river emjitying into the 
lake, including tiie Oswego Falls where the water 
drops 10 feet. An area of 7.0110 .square miles is 
drained by this river, which has the greafest 
width of not more than SOO feet. 

Early Steamboats on Oneida lake had side 
wheels. There were four ]>retty well known, the 




A .^Ni)\v •rrNNi'.i. iirid.M; a iika\ v fai.i, oksndw imiktv vkaksauo. 



'GRIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PHCENIX. 



87 



} 



Onondaga, the Oswego, the Madison and the 
( )neiila. The Madison was hnally talien to Xew 
Yorlv where it was used many years towing in the 
harbor. The Oswego was the last one that was 
used, heing changed to the Manhattan under 
which name it was run as an excursion boat and 
freighter. The tirstexcursion ]Kirty wlio chartered 
it was a company of young men, who took their 
party aboard at the head of ( )neiihi liend and went 
to Tliree Rivers. Oeorge Hawley i ow living in 
Syracu.se suggested the excursion on this boat of 
the farmers of Central New York, the first of 
regular annual excursions tlK\v hold every year. 

Three Rivers Port. — ( )n the east side of the 
( )swego river near its junctiim with the Oneida 
(though not generally known or scarcely men- 
tioned in history) there was erected in the spring 
of 175(1 a square fort or redoubt, about 2(1 s(]nare 
yards in line of defence and ])roYided with four 
bastions. On the inside were three log store- 
liouses. It was one of a chain of tenipor.ary forti- 
hcatious or stations which Col. Bradstreet threw 
iijj in his rear at the time he engaged in the ex- 
pedition against the French at Niagara. Com- 
ing from Albany he found Gen. Stanwix erecting 
a fort at "the Oneida carrying place" (Rome). 
Landing at Three Rivers he threw np these works 
and left a small guard. Reaching Oswego Falls 
he threw up another work of the same kind, then 
proceeded to Oswego. He had simi)ly provided 
a line of communication extenduig thi'ough a 
country then swarming with enemies — the French 
and Indians. 

An £inigra,iit in Oswego, 1828.— Some ob- 
servations from a letter dated C!onstantia, Dec. 2, 
1828, to the children in old England, will be in- 
teresting as showing what Oswego eou'ity was m 
that day: "We can l)uy good land for IS shillings 
])er acre; but buying lan<l is not one-quarter part 
[of our troubles], for the land is as full of trees as 
yoiu' woods are of stubs; and they are from 4 to 
10 rods long, and from 1 to ."> feet through them. 

* * * You may buy beef for Ijd per pound and 
mutton the same; salt butter 7d, cheese Hd, tea 
■is, (id, sugar 7il, camlle.s 7d and soap 7d per 
pound. Wheat brings 4s, (id, and corn and rye 
2s per bushel. * * * \ get 2s, id a day and 
my board an<l have as much meat to eat three 
times a day as I like. * * But clothes is dear; 
shoes, 5s; half-boots Kis; calico from :id to Is, 4d 
per yard; stockings 2s, 9d; flannel 4s j)er yard; 
superfine cloth from 4s, (id to 1£ per yard; now all 
this is counted in English money. * * We 
have two or three m iles to carry our grist and four 
mOes to go to the store ; another thing is we have 
no V)rewhouse near so we cannot get any yeast to 
bake with, so we are obliged to make risings * * we 
sometimes have heavy bread * * liut with all 
inconveniences I bless God for sending me to 
America. * * Let me know whether you will 
come to America or not. * * You will want 
l.£, lOs to get up where I am, both old and } ouug. 

* * And when you get to the (piarentine ground 

* * the best way for yon to come is to come up 
to Albany in a tow boat; when you get to Syra- 
cuse call for entertainment at the sign of the Far- 
mer's Accommodation; and there you will find us 
out." 

Phoenix was incorporated in 1.S4S and tlu' tirst 
election was held in March of that year but the re- 
cords have been burned and tlie names of the 
officers cannot be given. 



The Stanwix Line.— The original cession of 
lands by the North American Indians to the Eng- 
lish crown was secured at a tr<»aty at Fort Stan- 
wix, Nov. 1, ITIiS. The dividing line between the 
white and red men's countries, the foinier laying 
to the east thei'eof, for years afterwards known as 
the "Stanwix Line," was as follows; Beginning 
at the month of the Tennessee river it followed 
the Ohio and Alleghany rivers to Kittaning; 
thence in a direct line to the nearest fork of the 
west branch of the Sustpiehanna river; thence fol- 
lowiug that stream throut;li the .\lleghaiiys. it 
passed l;)y the way (.)f Burnett's HiUs and the 
eastern branch of the Susipiehannah and the Del- 
aware, into New Y'ork, having its northern termi- 
nus at the confluence of Canada and Wood creeks, 
Oneida county, a few miles from Rome. 

The First Road and Sta{tre Coach in Central 
New Y'ork are thus described in documentary his- 
tory of New Y'ork "by a gentleman to a friend": 
"To remedy this inconvenience as to roads, the 
legislature of the state had, by an act passed in 
the session of 1797 taken the road from Fort 
Schuyler [now Rome] to Geneva under their pat- 
ronage" [granting a lottery]. The inhabitant.s of 
the country through which the road j)assed sub- 
scribed four thou.sand days of work, "which they 
performed with fidelity and cheerfiUness." This 
road 1(8 miles long, (54 feet wide and "jjaved with 
logs and gravel in the nnjist jjarts of the low 
country through which it iiassed," was so far im- 
proved begiuning in the month of June 1797, 
that a stage started from Fort Schuyler on the 
30th of September [1797] and arrived at the hotel 
in Geneva in the afternoon of the third day with 
fonr passengers. This line of road having been 
established by law," continues the writer, "not 
less than fifty families settled on it in the space of 
tour months after it was opened." 

Two or three years afterwards two coaches were 
running weekly over this roa<l lietween Albany 
and Geneva; and the foU.iwing t iverns, at indi- 
cated distances apart, between Fort Schuyler and 
Geneva were ojien : From Fort Sch ny ler to Laird's, 
10 miles; Van Epps', near Oneida Reservation, (i; 
Weiup's in Oneida Reservation, [Castle], (i; Sill'.s, 
at the Deep Spring, [Chittenango], 11; Keeler's, 
Junior, 12; Tyler's, Onondaga Hollow, 10; Rice's, 
Nine MOe Creek, 10; Cayuga Ferry, [Cayuga 
Bridge], 2(t; PoweU's Hotel, Geneva, 13. 

Commerce on the Oswego river in the early 
part of the past century was one of the main ele- 
ments of prosperity for the frontiersmen of the 
Oneida country as it was cjlled. Hundreds of 
tons of merchandise besides thousands of barrels 
of salt were handled all along the rivers that unite 
at Three River Point. Farmers' boys idways 
found employment boating, the tirst thing most of 
them did ujion leaving tiie farm, and the founda- 
tion for more than one fortune was laid by the 
wages paid the young man driving, poling or 
steering. Boats ascending from Oswego usually 
required two teams at Phceuix and some times 
three teams to make head. From there to the 
brick yard a mile and a half above the point it was 
easier "pulling." Usually extra horses were kept 
at these places. In later years the state has spent 
large sums of money on the Oswego canal, the 
substitute for the old river channel, and conditions 
are much better now. Division superintendents 
with their force of men keep the channel in con- 
dition. 



88 



'ORTP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PHCENIX. 



Frenchman's Island Tradition. — Several nc- 
coiints agree that in 17!I2 and afterwards there 
lived oa an island in Oneida lake, now known as 
Freneliniau's Isliind, a Freuelnnan named Des- 
vatines, his wife and two ehildien, wlio were 
S(jnatters. The tradition of tiie locality wliieli the 
old inhaliitiint has told his children is tliat Coiuit 
St. Hilary, a refugee from the French revohitioii. 
bad sought to hid»> himself from th<' terrorists. 
They arrived on tlie island in the .spring of IT'.H. 
The ensuing winter he pa.ssed with the Oiieiila 
Indians at tlie east end of the lake: having neitlier 
shelter nor jirovisions on his island. In the spring 
of IV'.t'Jtlicy returned hither, wlicre in a few days 
their child. Ciiniilli'.tht- tir.st liirtli in the settk>nient 
of Oswego county of a white child, was horn. He 
that summer tiuislied clearing six acres, and erected 
a lU'etty cottage with a neatly kejit giirdeii enclosed 
by lime trees. The <'oltage was roofed with hark 
and a few j)aces distant was an open shed usi'd as 
a kitchen. The garden was divided by a walk, on 
both sides of which were flower bed.s made and 
kept by Madame Desvatine.s, in which were grow- 
ing that summer sweet Williams, lady s!i[);iers and 
hya<'inths. The garden beyond the house con- 
tained bn.sh and kidney beans, cabbage, tni'ni])s, 
peas, watermelons, cantaloupes, cucumbers, jier.si], 
string peas and potatoes. Behind the gar<l(>n was 
a small a]i]>le orchard enclosed by a flourishing 
potato ))atch. The interior of the cabin contained 
a few trunks and chairs, an oval table, two small 
beds, a double barrelled gun and several books. 
The following year, the spring of 17!);i, the family 
was com ])elled to leave its i.sland home, and l)es- 
vatines Ixiught from (xeorge Scriba, who that sanu' 
year founded the city of Rotterdam (C'onstautia), 
1,01)0 acres "on easy terms" on the maiulan<l near 
that ])lace, where the last accounts represented the 
Frenchman and his family as living in a cottage 
with fullest enjoyment of life. 

Pioneer Lost in 1792. — The perils braved by 
the early pioneers of the town of Mexico were 
many. Oliver Stevens, living at Fort Brewertou 
in 1792, started one morning in the spring of that 
year to attend a town meeting for the town of 
Alexico which was to lia\e been held in a house 
on Scriba's road near the present village of Mex- 
ico. Instead of taking the usual course — follow- 
ing the beaten path by the way of the river or 
going east to Scriba's road by the lake shore, he 
struck boldly into the woods headed north carry- 
ing his gun and a lunch for mid-day. Along late 
in the afternoon he was be.set by wolves. They 
were not bold but were persistent, driven forth 
by hunger after a long winter, and followed him 
doggedly. Finally one got uncomfortably close 
and he shot it. .\fter dragging the carcass some 
distance he built a tire and removed the i)elt. 
Here he bivouacked all night, keeping awake with 
great eflbrt by walking round and round the tire 
and suH'ering considerably from cold. At day- 
light he turned, as h(> sup|iosed, toward home. 
But all of that day hi' wamlered in the woods, 
again a second night intending to keep vigilant 
watch for fear that if he sle])t he would be attacked 
by the wolves. But nature rebelled and he at 
last fell tusk'eji, but awoke at daylight considera- 
bly refreshed. In a few hours, after wamlering 
aimlessly, lu' reached th^ fort at Oswego, when' 
he rested that day and night and returiu'd home 
the next. The wolf pelt proved his claim to the 
bounty of $40, besides being of considerable value 
in itself. 



Block Houses in Oswego County. — In May, 
n^lt, Oen. Amherst at AUiany designed three mil- 
itary posts on Oneida lake and Col. James Mont- 
resor, Chief Engineer in America, was ordered to 
make plans for them. At the same time there was 
made the drawing for a j>ost at Oswego for 1000 
men. The Oneida lake posts were to be located, 
one at the north-east end for .'iO men, one at the 
west end for I'lO men and one at Oswego Falls for 
loo men. There were to be intreiichments en- 
clo.sing a block hou.se and surrounded by n dit<'li. 
.V swival gun was to be niouiiled at each angle of 
the tort. C'ajit. John Moutre.sor. son of Col. 
James Montresor. spoke of being at these jiosts 
in A])ril, ]7()4, when he acconii)anied Col. John 
Bradstreet on his exiiedition to Oswego and U]) 
the lake to Niagara where Capt. ^lontresor also 
])launed and executed military works. He reached 
the "Royal Block House," on the ciust end of 
Oneida lake on April 27, ]7(>1, having ridden his 
horse from Fort Schuyler. He stoiiped over night 
at Fort Stanwix on the 2f)th and delivered dis- 
patches to Col. Camjibell. At !• o'clock the next 
morning he set oil' on his horse reaching the lake 
at 2:;^0 p. m. There he was detained until the 
:iOth waiting for boats to return from Fort Brew- 
erton, when he proceeded "in a batteau,'' experi- 
encing in the jiassiige down the lake S(pially 
weather and rain, which "drove us on shore in a 
Hurry" arriving at Fort Brewertou in the night. 
On ilay 1st he arrived "by water at the Onon- 
daga Fall [Oswego FaUJ. Heavy rains, very high 
waters and the l)anks overflowed and much land 
ilrowned." He proceeded by water and in "one 
and one-half hours arrived at Ontario." 

Original Oneida Reservation. — That nation 

secured to itself by treaty with the state of Xew 
York at Fort Schuyler Sejit. 22, 178S in jierpetiiity 
the tract of land including a large jisu't of the pre- 
sent counties of ^Madison and Oneida and a strip 
along the eastern line of Onondaga county. ThLs 
treaty followed that made with the Onondagas in 
al)out ten days, the same commissioners siTving 
in both cases. The Oneulas received "cash down" 
.■5;2,OO0 in money, .$2,000 in cUrthing and other 
goods, §1,000 in provisions and $500 to be used 
in building a grist and saw mill at their village. 
The Oneidas were iiLso to ri'ceive .StiOO in cash or 
gooils annually. The northern half of their re- 
servation the Oneidas were prohibiteil from leas- 
ing or selling; but the other (southern) jiortion — 
a strij) four miles wide — could be leased in jiart or 
the whole not to exceed twenty-one years. The 
state further reserved to the Indians and others to 
land and encamp upon, viz: "One-half mile .s(piare 
at the distance of every .six miles of the lands 
idong the nothern banks of the Oneida lake; one- 
half mile in breadth of the lands on each side of 
Fi.sh <'ieek: and a convenient jjiece of land at the 
hshing place in the Onondaga river about three 
miles from where it issues out of Oneida lake." 

Oswego Geography in 1S12.— During the 

war of ISli! the war de]iartment at Washington is- 
sued an order which caused a good deal of merri- 
ment ill Oswego and Onondaga counties, says the 
historiHU, Clark. Commodore Cliauncey, com- 
mander on the lakes, was directed "to proceed 
forthwith with an armed ves,sel via the Oswego 
river to Onondaga Hollow to remove a quantity 
of ammuiution from that place to Oswego." An 
ollicial ordering "an armed vessel" 4 or 5 miles 
inland was evidently at fault in its geography. 



'GBIP'8" HISTOEICAL SOUVENIR OF PHCENIX. 



89 



HISTORIC PHOENIX 



An Indian Village, 1653 

Careful researches among the historical docu- 
ments of the state and reference to the writings 
of the Jesuit Missionaries [See page 5] who came 
to the country of the Onoudagas as early as 16i2, 
and after tliat continued to come and go from year 
to year during the balance of that century, prove 
that the site of the present village of Phoenix was 
one of three chosen fishing grounds in Oswego 
county upon which stood Indian villages, more 
than a half century prior to the first settlement of 
whites. The other two localities were the mouth 
of the Salmon river and the outlet of Oneida 
river on the shore of that lake. The Indians, as 
has been shown in fact, located their villages all 
along the Oneida river, very plain evidences of 
one of their favorite spots lieing at Candee HUl 
(described on page 82). 

So clear are the historians with resjiect to the 
Indian fishing village at Phcenix that they give its 
name, which was QUI-E-HOOK-GAH, meaning 
supplied with fish. The historian Beauchamp 
says it was located here as early as l()5i. Father 
LeMoyne, the Jesuit [see in his account top of 
first column, 6 page] found a fishing village here 
a year earher, when he stopped here two days, 
Aug. 17 and 18, 1653. 

Place of the Tall Pines 

In fact this locality was regarded Ijy the Indians 
as the most favored of any on the river. On ac- 
count of the large grove of tall pines which cover- 
ed the east shore they gave to the spot the name 
KAH-NE-WO-NAH, "place of the tall pines." 

Captain Barnes in his "Recollections" on i^age 
20 speaks of the fact that the first settlers had to 
clear a consideralile tract now occupied liy nearly 
all of the village of Phoenix, of almost entnely 
pines. He clearly remembers the large pine 
stumps scattered about the little frontier settle- 
ment at the time he came here, as late as 1835. 
Yet, like an island surrounded by sea, this slope 
of pines which the Indians found so attractive, 
was completely environed by dense woods of 
beech, nia})le and hemlock. Oswego county is 
spoken of by many of the earhest French visitors 
— or the territory now comprising that county — 
as a land of large and thick forests. 

Junction of Indian Trails 

The foot of Three River Rift, the name which 
was applied here by the Jesuits, was then, before 
the river had been dammed up or had changed in 
its topography, attractive for the natives not 
alone because of its great fishing but for the rea- 
son that it was at the junction of three extensive 
Indian trails, respectively as follows: Following 
the river north to Ochougen and south to the 
Onondaga's council fire, was the main trail over 
which the war iiarties for years engaged with the 
French travelled; toward the east was that which 
led to the Oneidas' villages at the east end and 
south of Oneida like, striking favored fishing 
spots on the ditt'erent fiends of the Oneida river 
and at the outlet of the lake where it crossed a 
trail running from Salmon river to the Onond -gas 



and continuing east in two branches skirting re- 
spectively the north and south shores of that lake. 
The thh'd trail, separated from that leading to 
Ochougen after fording the little stream north of 
the village of Phnenix and turning to the north- 
east struck into the town of Mexico where it 
crossed the Little Salmon river above the jiresent 
village of Mexico, then Ijent a trifle south in a 
long curve to the north-east, crossing Grindstone 
creek at the foot of the lower pond where it tiu'n- 
ed directly north terminating at the north of 
Salmon river. This was the trail which the 
Chevalier Ohamjilain with a few hardy French- 
men and a train of savage Hurons followed in 
1616 [See page 76]. 

Butler and Brant Camped Here 
Few places north of the Oneida river are as rich 
in Indian and Colonial history as is the lieautiful 
slope lajjon which stands the village of Phoenix. 
In several jilaces in this work are described the 
various camping parties at this place. But in a 
later period, not previously mentioned hei'e, was 
that of the bloodthirsty Tories and Indians under 
the Mohawk Brant and the notorious Butler when 
they led a large ]3arty of English Hessians under 
the conmiand of Sir John Johnson on a raid 
through the Schoharie and Mohawk valleys. It 
was in the last of Sei^tember, 1780, that having 
arrived at Oswego they disembarked from vessels 
which brought them from Niagara. After a day's 
rest they began the ascent of the river, starting at 
midnight and reaching their first camping place 
at the foot of Three River Rift before dark. Here 
they left the river the next morning, striking 
camp before dayhght and following the trail over 
to the big Oneida l)end, thence to the lake which 
they crossed to the mouth of Chittenango creek. 
Returning, they ambushed a pursuing ])arty near 
Oneida lake which they crossed pursuing the same 
course to Oswego they had taken in coming. 
Sir William Johnson Was Here 
Prior to the revolution this was the camping 
place of the renowned Sir William Johnson who 
mentions camping here on Jiily 18, 1761, and 
reaching Oswego the next day to hold a "big 
talk" with all of the Indian triljes in America who 
could be induced to send representatives. 

On the night of July 7, the preceding year, 
1760, the largest colonial militia mustered in the 
American colonies after the French and Indian 
war, boiled thfir pots over fires among the pines 
at this j)lace. They consisted of men from Jlassa- 
chusetts. Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Con- 
necticut, New Jer.>-ey and New York, under the 
command of Col. Woodhull, who was Ijouud for 
Oswego. They followed the sinuous course of the 
streams from Fort Brewertou going into camjj 
here on the evening of the same day. 

Baptists in Oswego County. — In 1836 there 
wei-e fourteen churches, eleven clergymen and 
1339 communicants in the Baptist association of 
Oswego county, viz: Colosse, C. Marshall, pastor, 
161 members; Hannibal, P. Woodin, 257; Hast- 
ings, S. I). Dean. 68; Mexico, W. Frary, 109: 

New Haven, W. Frary, 72; Orwell, , -13; 

Oswego, J. Waterman, J. Hallinbeck, C. W. Den- 
nison, 237; Palermo, A. Keith, 38; Phoenixville. 
N. Camp, 52; Pulaski, C. B. Tavlor, 89; Parish. 
D. Martin, 30, Richland, E. Burdick, 8i; Sandy 
Creek (52 ; Volney, , 39. 



90 



•GRIP'S" HISTOIUCAL SOUVENIR OF PHCENIX. 



ANCIENT CITIES IN OSWEGO COUNTY 

Ac'conliiig to si'Vi-ral iiuthi)ritios all of thu couu- 
tiy now comprised iu Oswego county was, long 
before Columbus discovorcd America, occupied 
bv a large coloni/atiou of Finns, Danes and 
\Velsliiiien, who in the eighth and ninth centuries 
gradually moved south from Iceland, (Treenland 
and Labiu'ador to the St. Lawrence, and crossing 
that river spread themselves out sdong the south 
shores of Lakes Oiitiiricj and Fjrie. 

Antipodal Races Met Here 
Dr. ^litchell {Arch;e. Anier. ) calls the country 
of the OntiU'io, that region especially described by 
him at the east end of the lake and a few miles 
to the west on its southern slopes, as the .\nti- 
podal Regions of the eighth and ninth centuries, 
where the Scandinavians crossing from Europe to 
north-eastern America and migrating southwest, 
and the tierce Tartars crossing from Asia to north- 
western America and migrating to the south- 
east met in bloody conflict which resulted in the 
extinction of the Scandanavians. Seven centuries 
later, the French sent their Jesuits down into this 
country and found the American Indian, who had 
descended fi'om a race of ^bJays, which they in a 
sense resemble, who occupying caves in Ohio and 
Kentucky, were finally destroyed l)y the Tartars, 
who then moved info the south-west. 

Found in Several Towns 
While the original occupants of the Ontario lake 
region had become e.xtinct, plainly discerned 
traces of their presence were apparent as late as 
1820 and 1830. Remains of what are consi<lered 
as traces of large cities and fortifications were, be- 
fore the agriculturist began to plow the soil, found 
in the towns of Sandy Creek, Richland, Mexico, 
New Haven, Volney, (iranby, Hannibal and 
Oswego. 

One Work Covers Fifty Acres 
"Eastward these fortificatians have been traced 
18 miles east of jNIanlius Square," says Antiquities 
of New York, 1824, "* * * and north as far 
as Sandy Creek, 1-1 miles from Sackets Harbor 
near which is one that covers 50 acres and con- 
tains \inusually large fragments of strange pottery. 
There is one in the town of Onondaga (Pomijey); 
one in Scipio; two near Auburn." 

That Near Phoenix 
Thi> tracings of earthworks in the town of 
Oranby, four miles from Phoenix, [described on 
page 35] is undoubtedly one of this vast system of 
works for defense ascribed to the 9th century. 
But these are not to be confounded with other 
tracings such as the old fort at Fulton which were 
the works of the English war ])arties in the 18th 
century. Large trees covering the sites of the 
former a century ago distinguished them from 
what were then forts of comparatively recent 
origin. 

Defences at Cross Lake 
"The remnant of ancient defences on the fast 
bank of the Seneca river (5 miles south of Cross 
lake," says Antq, of N. Y., 1824, "and 40 mUes 
south of the fort at Oswego was discovered as 
eiu-ly as 1791. • * The iirincijial fort was des- 
cribed to be 220 yards in length and .">.") yards in 
breadtij. The banks and corresponding ditches 
were remarkably entire, as were two ujjeratures 
opposite each other in the middle of the parallel- 



logram, one 0]>ening to the water and the other 
facing the forest. About a half a mile south of 
the greater fort was a large half-moon. The 
banks and ditches of both were covered with 
trees that exhiliite<l extremity of age." 
Pre-Historic Ruins 
In 1802, when a fringe of settlements lay alimg 
Oneida lake and river while in the eastei-n ])art of 
the county there was only the small hamlet of 
Redtield — west of which to LakeOntario there was 
not a house — the interior of the county, an un- 
beaten wilderness, was ]ienetrated by a mis.sionary 
from the state of Massachusetts, the Rev. John 
Taylor, a graduate of Yale who entered this sec- 
tion from Redtield — coming in via Rome and 
Camden — where he wils entertained by one named 
Johnson who, he .says, "married a Pomroy." 
From that place he jiuslied west on horseback and 
crossed "a wilderness of 24 miles without a hou.se," 
traveling over a road which he says was "cut out 
this summer — and is a tedious, hiUy, rooty, muddy, 
stumpy, solitary road," to Lake Ontario where 
he stopped with a Mr. Hockley on the north 
branch of Sandy Creek four and one-half miles 
from LakeOntario and there made his ol )servations. 
Evidences of Great Cities 
"This is as fine a tract of country," he writes, 
"as I think I ever saw. It is heavy timbered; Imt 
the land is as rich as land can be. This town, 
and undoubtedly all of this country, has been, in 
some ancient period, thickly inhabited. In many 
places there are evident marks of houses having 
stood as thick as to join each other. The remains 
of old fireplaces built of stones — wells evidently 
dug and stoned to a considerable depth; and the 
remains of old forts and entrenchments — are all 
evidences of this fact." 

Work of Iron and Powder 
Speculating farther on the remarkable number 
of old forts and entrenchments which he found 
close to the two liranches of the Sandy Creek — 
seven altogether — some of which were constructed 
in solid rock, he became lost in wonderment. 
Such works, he declares, could be constructed 
only with iron tools and in some cases only with 
a powerful explosive. He found trees of great di- 
mensions (of eipial size with others surrounding 
them) growing out of the tops of these forts — in 
some cases large trees were found laying in the 
trenches to the forts nearly decayed showing they 
had lain there a considerable time anterior to the 
beginning of American history. Pipes and earthen 
ware of a jieculiar form, and curious coins 
"which," he writes, "cannot be read by the 
ignorant jieasaiits and which I am fearful will be 
lost," were ploughed up in this section; a two- 
edged sword was idso unearthed near the south 
branch of Sandy Creek, three hud one-half miles 
from the lake. Pieces of broken brick, he was 
informed, were found "in all the Unds" that were 
ploughed. .\s an "evidence of this country hav- 
ing been formerly settled beyond what has been 
mentioned," he sjieaks of jiroductions "left by an 
improved people, " as cunauts, black and red, 
angelica, plantain. English pursely Iparsely], high 
balms and peppeniiint. 

Was This of Nazareth 
"By whom were these works wrought," he con- 
tinues. "Not by the natives, surely; l)ecause in 
various iiarts of this county iron implements are 
dug imd iiloughed up. And if the natives ever 
had the art of working iron, it is not probable 
they would lose an art so useful. Further, noth- 
ing'ever appeared in the natives which indicated 



"GRIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PHCENIX. 



91 



so m\ich improvement in the art of self defence, 
as to build forts so regular as those are found to 
be. Again, the fort near Sandy Creek which is 
out in the rock, must have been a work too stujien- 
dous for untaught savages to eflect; and it is 
doul)tful if it could be done without the use of 
powder. And there is a difficulty attending this 
fort — on condition, or suppose it to have been done 
by any Euro])ean nation [as a defence against the 
light arms of savages], they would not have un- 
dertakeu a work so arduous, when so little lienefit 
could have been derived from it, in proportion to 
the work. * * What has become of this people V 
And why have we no history of such a nation as 
must have inhabited this part of the world? Were 
these tlie works of the ante-diluvians — or is this 
the laud of Nazareth, to which Esdras says the 
ten tribes traveled, and were an hundred and 
twenty days on their journey? Or is it the Vine- 
laud of the emigrant Swedes, who returned to 
their native country but once? Or are they ye 
works of Spaniards in searching for gold? Or was 
this land inhabited hj the emigrant Mexican after 
the Si)anish conquest? That these works were 
not done l)y French or Engli.sh is beyond a doubt 
from various reasons too numerous to mention." 

Original Names in Oswego County. — 

Caugh-de.uoy, viUiige — [Iroquois], Eel laying 
down; vast numbers of fish are said to have been 
caught here by the Indians who had a village at 
this place. 

Brewertou (Oneida outlet) — Oh-sa-hau-uy-tah 
[Onon. ], Here the waters run from the lake. " Se- 
ugh-kah [Oneida], Lake pours out. 

Deer Creek — Gah-teh-nah [Iroq.], Small stream 
in the rushes; it Hows through marshes. 

Grindstone Creek — He-haw-ha-kee [Iroq.], 
Where there are nuts. 

Little Salmon River — Kah-na-ta [Onon.], Place 
to And liark. Che-go-hage [Oneida], Large bark 
ready to be picked up. 

Lake near Fulton — Ne-at-a-want-ha [L-oq.], 
Lake hiding from the river. Fish lake [Early 
Settlers]. 

Mexico Bay — Teh-no-ha-hah [Iroq.], Wide 
waters in the land. 

New Haven Creek — Kah-dah-ko-gah [Iroq.], 
Plao» of low Wet ground. 
; Oneida Lake — Sa-ugh-ka [Onon.], Striijed 

I waters (from the Manlius and Pomjjey hills 
when the sun is right the surface of the lake ap- 
pears striped I ilue and white). Lac Techtroguen 
des Ouneiouts [Fr. Jes.] On-ha-do-ho-go [Oneida]. 
^ Teshiroque [Mohawk and Dutch]. 

Oswego (the port) — Osh-wa-kee [Iroq.], See 
everywhere see nothing. Ochougen [Fr. Jes.]. 

Oswego Fidls — Kah hehsa-hegh [Iron.], Place 
[ of the falls. 

f Oswego River — Swa-geh [Iroq.], Flowing 

out of two rivers. Riviere de la Onnontogues 
[Fr. Jes ], River of the Onoudagas, leading to 
that nation. 

Oswego Falls Indian Village — Kag-ne-wag-roge 
[Iroq.]. 

Peter Scotts Swamp — Ka-nugh-wa-ka [Onon.], 
Where rabbits run. 

Ontario Lake — En-tou-no-ho-rons [Hiu-ou], 
Big water of the Hiu-ons. Ska-nau-da-reh [ Loq. ], 
Beautiful lake. Lac Ontario on des Ii-oquois 
[Fr. Jes. J, Lake of the Ontario over of (on to) 
which are the Iroquois. Lac St. Francis [Cham- 
plain's map, 1G32.] Cadaraqui [Mohawks and 
early English]. 



Phoenix — Kah-ne-wo-nah [Iroq.], Place of the 
Tall Pines. 

Phoenix, Indian Fishing Village— Qui-o-Hook- 
Gah [Iroq.], Supply with tish. 

Salmon River — Heh-hah-wa-gah [Onon. ], Where 
swim the sweet (delicious) fish. Ka-hi-agh-haghe 
[Oneidas], Plenty to eat of fishes. La Famine 
[Fr. Jes.], Where Gov. Barre's troojis famished. 

Sandy Creek— He-kah-na-go-gah [Iroq.], Where 
there is much sand. Riviere de la Blanche [Fr. 
Jes.]. 

Scribas Creek — Gah-teh-nah [Iroq.], Falling 
creek. Hegh-ka-nagh-hagh [Oneida], Creek danc- 
ing in the sun. Bruce creek [Early Settlers]. 

Three River Point — Te-u-nug-hu-ka [Iroq.], 
Where all of the rivers meet. 

Towns of Osw^ego County. — Date of their 
erection and towns from whence they were taken; 
tracing each back .successively to the original 
territory : 

Amboy, March 2.5, 18S0; from Williamstown; 
which was taken from Mexico. 

Albion, March 21, 182.5; from Richland; from 
Williamstown; from Mexico. 

Constantia [Rotterdam], April 8, 181)8; from 
Mexico; from Steuben Patent. 

Boylston, Feb. 7, 1828; OrweU; Richland; Wd- 
Uamstown; Mexico. 

Granby, April 20, 1818; Hannibal; Lysander, 
Onondaga Co. ; Mexico; Military tract. 

Hasting.s, April 20, 1825; Constantia; Mexico. 

Hauaibal, Feb. 28, 1806; Lvsander; Mexico; 
Military tract. 

Mexico, April 10, 1792 — re-organized Feb. 25, 
1796; Wliitestown, Herkimer Co. 

New Haven, April 2, 1813; Mexico. 

Orwell, Feb. 28, 1817; Richland; Williamstown; 
Mexico. 

Oswego, April 20, 1818; Hannibal; Lysander; 

Mexico ; Military tract. 

Palermo, April 4, 1832; VoLney; Mexico. 

Parish, March 20, 1828; Mexico. 

Redfield, March II, 1800; Mexico. 

Ricldand, Feb. 20, 1807; Wilhamstown; Mexico. 

Scriba, AprO 5, 1811; Fredericksburg [see Vol- 
ney]; Mexico. 

Sandy Creek, March 24, 1825; Richland; Wil- 
liamstown; Mexico. 

Schroeppel, April 4, 1832; Volney; Mexico. 

Volney, April 5, 1811; erected first as the town 
of Fredericksburg, March 21, 1806; from Mexico. 

Williamstown, March 24, 1804; Mexico. 

West Monroe, Miirch 21, 1839; Constantia; 
Mexico. 

The First American Flag was accepted by 
congress and adopted by resolution by that body 
June 14, 1777. It was made l>y Betsey Ross in 
1776 at No. 239 Arch street, Philadelphia, where 
she was visited by Robert Morris and George 
Ross, a committee of congress appointed to see 
the colors when they were completed that they 
might rejiort upon the design. They were accom- 
panied by George Washington who had just been 
made cominander-m-chief of the American army. 

The Phoenix Rural Cemetery Association 
was incorporated April 27, 1863, with the follow- 
ing officers :—M. S. Cushman, president; D. D. 
McKoon, secretary; Ohver Breed, Charles W. 
Candee, William Leslie, G. G. Breed, Edmund 
Merry, Amasa P. Hart, Davis ( 'onger, Gouvcrneur 
M. Sweet, Samuel Avery and William Hart, 
trustees. 



APR 1 2 1904 

92 



"GRIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF PHCENIX. 



u^jJf^/i 



Block Houses near Plirenix were erected in 
IT")'.), from jiliins drawn l)y Col. James Montressor, 
"Chief Engineer of America," as he signed him- 
self, in May of that year. Tliev were located, one 
at tlie northeast end of Oneida lake, for a garrison 
of 50 men | Wood creek], one at Hrewerton for 150 
men and the third at Oswego Falls for 100 men. 
There were intreuchmeuts enclosing a lilock 



hou.se surrounded liy a ditch. A swi\al gun was 
mounted at each angle of the redoubts. Cai>t. 
John Montressor, son of the designer of these 
works, visited them with Bradstreet's exj>edition 
in Ajiril, 1704. 

The First Tax Payers on the Oswego river 
at or near Plueni.x, as .shown liy the records of 
17!tS, were Stephen Lush and iJaniel Phteuix. 



Official and Professional 

Towns— SiiiHTvisiir, FL 
Smllli, Ph«iMii\; Clerk, (' D 
Ash. l*h<i'ni\: .Iiistii-fs. C J 
K\iIUt ami H I) Lntluim of 
Phd'liix, W M Merrijiiu ol 
rfniirllville.aiid WKl'onrad 
of GtllKTts Mills. 

Vibi.A(ii;— Piesldeiit, O M 
Kellly: Clerk, S .1 Moj-.t; 
Trustees, John (tHrh'U. KA 
Talior, W H Waruer, John 
Wing. 

CHiKf OK Police — G F 
Henderson. 

PosTMASTEK — Arthur P 
Morriam; Ass't, Miss Pen- 
dprtrast . 

School— President, H S 
Van Wormcr; Secretary, F 
M Pierce; Treasurer, E G 
Hutchinson; Trustees, A \V 
Hawks, OMReilly,HDMerri- 
ani,FiATal»or, W H Murphy. 

Faculty — Principal, J 
Sehujier Fox; Preceptress, 
Kuth L Ward; Assistants, 
Gertrude M Walker, Vera H 
Beanuin; Drawing, Adelaine 
E Launt; Training: riasB, 
Mary Dujran;<irad^'B. Minnie 
Jones, Alice <' Kitts. E May 
Gnsfsr. Isabella W Williams, 
Evu.MKiiiilulll, GraceAHub- 
banl, I'.r.'lli' H Smith. 

FlKK— Preside Mt,EATabor 
Secretary, F E Hooker; 
Treasurer, H .S VanWormer; 
Chief Eng., Wra Spaulding; 



PHCENIX D 

Ass'ts, ESPatchin, CC Kins- 
low; Forenuui, DCRemiuK- 
ton. 

lloAiin OK Thaiie — Presi- 
dent, Arthur P Meri-iani; 
Seeretai-\', A C Pjirki'i" Di- 
rectors, FW Hakes, HUMer- 
riam, A E Kuss. 

Phiknix Hank— Pres., J A 
Hawks; Cashier, AWHawks; 
Ass't Cashier, E G Hntehin- 
som; Directors. C E Hutchin- 
son, J C Hutchinson, 

PlIIKNlX Kkgister— J M 
Williams, Editor & Prop. 

PlliK.MX Pl'IlLlSHING Co., 

p\0)lishers of The Press; 
MCMnrjriltroyd, Pres., Geo. 
Hoyt, Editor. 

Phck.vix Elect kic Light 
& WatkrCo.,— JIVanDoren 

Clehgv— liaptist, KevHM 
Cloud; Methodist, Rev H S 
SouthaUConyrrej^atioualHcv 
TW Harris; Catholic, Rev P 
HUeacham. 

PHYsiciANS-JEHamill, E 
J Urury, R A Wilcox, D F 
Youn;^. 

Lawvehs — O M Reilly, 
Francis David, A D Merry, 
Ira Detts. 

Optician- C J Fuller. 

Dentist— CWRichards. 

In-urance— H A Dygert, 
H \V Vischer. 

Pensi'in Claim Agents- 
John O'Brien, WHJenninjjTs. 

Hotels— Windsor, H D 
Fox; Kirk,MDinjfman; How- 



IRECTORY. 

ard, M Care\ ; Tivola, Jas. 
Otts. 
RR Bus— R D M Decker. 

Manufacturing 

and Mercantile 

Bakiohv-E J Denton. 

Uah»ehs— FLPottcr,Mark 
Miller. 

IJEKHY Crate Fasteners 
and HinjiTs, M CR.\'an. 

liicvci.E Ki pairing— Wil- 
liam TurneT- 

Blacksmiths— n C Rem- 
iUM'ton. John IJccker. 

Boots anl> Shoes— W H 
Jenninjj:s. 

BuiLUEHS— H S Van Wor- 
mer, W H Warner. 

Cheese MI'f!.—APMerriam 

Cigar — A CjMoyer, Frank 
SpaiOdiug. 

Clothiers— H DMnriam, 
Moses Rambar. 

COAI^A C Parker. 

Coal ano Lu.mber— J H 
Loomis&Son, William Blake. 

Desk & Knike Co.— E A 
Tabor, () M Sherman. 

DHU<iS-R S Kellar, H A 
Dysjert. 

Dry Goods— J C Hutchin- 
son & Co., FACartter,Vick- 
ery & Spencer, M Kat/.. 

Flour & Feed— A C Par- 
ker, Pierce \- Penderg-ast. 

Foundkv— Phoeni.x, John 
O'Brien; Arthurotts. 

FUKXITURK & Und.— F W 
Hakes, H S Withers. 



Groceries— A ERuss, CD 
Ash. J C Hiitcliinson \ Co. 

Hahiiwahk— .N A HuKrlies, 
M\jrpliy liids., EEBurleiirh. 

Hakdware Specialties— 
Geo A Colton A: Son. 

Harne-s— Wm Stewart, F 
W Alvord. 

Jewelers- C J Fuller, OE 
Ward. 

Machinery- E B Bakery. 

Meat Mahkkt-C E Bai)- 
cock, (JeorM^e Wood. 

Mo.M'mknts— R V Allen. 

PaperMills— OswcffoRiv- 
er, MCMurfrittrovd; I'luenix 
Toilet .V- Paper Mf|f. Co., H S 
Holfman. II D Wood; Sweet 
Bros.T C \- K .N Sweet; Phoe- 
nixTissue Paper Mills,Smith 
Murjfittroyd; I'lapnix Tissue 
Mills, L J Carrier, 

PHiENix-HotWalerHeal- 
ing Co, Smitli MiUTittrovd; 
-Sliding Blind Co.— Veast 
\- Spirits Co, Fred A Bossc; 
Hunter L Betts. 

Planing Mill— J HLoo ni- 
ls & Stm. 

Pn'MHER— H D Latham. 

Pool Room— D Donaldson 

PRINTING-S J Moyer. 

Shoe Repairer — Fred 
Veal. 

Silk Mills— Duffy Bros. 
*: A F Nellis. 

Tin Shop— r d Latham, 
Fred Ketcham. 

Variety Store — Arnice 
Archambo. 



INDEX TO 

Avery, DrSamuel 2:1 

Avery,CW «> 

AverysCabinet shop -'» 

Alpha Theta 7" 

Allen, RY .« 

Ancient Cities, Os Co HO 

Board of Trade 4, 7.1 

Bajitist clnirch Ifi 

Baptists in Oswejiro Co 811 
Harnes Keeollectious 2(1 

Breed, Oliver 24 

Hattle Mann's farm 8 

Baiik.Plio-nixliK-Uob'ry .58 
lietts.lra .58 

Baker.Ell&LC 71 

Biirke,SW 13 

BiieMenPlKenixlR(!3,43; .sk 42 
Bridge .')— construction '24 — 

—old 4; sk 44 

Bridges, County 43 

Base Ball Team 27; sk -ll 

Baldwins Island 13 

Beecliam. HevPH 32 

Bishops Res \- farm ii7 

Babcock Market Hii 

Block Hous,-s HH 

County olhcers. First 31 

Caudee, C W 34— Reminia- 

(ences 3.5 
Catholic church 32 

Count V Seat (,luestion 11 

Clerks'. County Xi 

Child, First born 411 

Cloud. ReVltM Hi 

Chaniplain's Exjiedition 7t» 
CuiiKret^ational church .5.5 
Deckers Kes, JL 71 

Di-i\injf Dist 73 

DlstaiuM-s OswcKO canal 42 
Dam, construction, 25 

— Sujeidies power 48 

Epworth League .'18- Jun- 

(lor 50; sk 7!) 
Eastern Star .57 

Earthworks, HlBtorlc 35 
EBiiKrants,08weKO 87 

Flynn, Samuel 33 

Flrcmeu 30 

Flag, l8t In Phceni.T 17 



"GRIP'S" HISTOR 

Flag, 1st American 91 

Forresters 41; sk 42 

Fuller,CJ 711 

Football Team .52 

Fox,HD 74 

Forts,! iswegro 37 

Fire of 1872, 24— of 1894 32 
Frontenac Expedition 7.5 
French Claim Territory Sii 
Fiit^itive, Capture of 17 

First Lords of Soil 82 

Fust Road & Coach 87 

Frenehmans Island Tra- 

[dition 8S 
GAR 4.5 

Good Templars 33 

Grist Mill, Isl in Phtenix 38 
Gilberts Mills 22 

Governors NY 46— Colon'l 48 
Grantee 43 

Gilbert,Joseph 06 

Hart,AP 311 

Hakes,FW 67 

HamillAP 66 

Hinh School Athleti's 51 

Henderson, GD 52 

Hawks l{c-s,AW 69 

Hutchinson Kes, EG 69 

Historic Ph(enix 89 

Hu(fli<'8,NA .5:! 

Island Tradition s 

Ilulian \'illaj4-es 82 

Jesuils.Path of 5 

.lenniiiKS.WH 73 

Kin^fs Dau;^hters 76 

L'Honiniedu'vis Purchase 3tt 
Ladies Aid Baptist oh 2:! 

Latham, RD .54 

Lejfislature 47 

Lamson Coach 6.5 

Military Tract 15 

Masons .57: sk 69 

Maccabees 5(1 

MEChurch 17 

Merriani. A\A]'&AW 78 
Merriam.HD 79 

Newspapers. Ph<enl.x 18 

Names, UriKinal Os Co 91 
Oswego Falls Res 16— Fort 03 



ICAL SOUVENIR OF 

(lilil Fellows 8 

( iswet;..\-Albany ISthCent .58 

Oswet;o\:0neida R,1757 .55 

Oueidas Reserv 88 

Oswego River, size, 86 

—commerce' 87 

Oswego, how named 84 

( iswetioliiverPaperMills 8'i 

OswcKo Canal \- Lock .S4 

Oswesio Geography 1812 .88 
Ph(enix,Descrlp 1— Incorp 
S7-Trotting 2.5-Purcliase 
36 -Press o3— History 4 — 

— Register :j8 

Plaisted, Lyman 43 

Pendergast,Steplu'n 49 

Postoltice 77 

Pioneer Roads, 17(H) .58 

Photographer, veteran 31 

PhotogTajdiy 46 

Pioneers Oswego 84 

Phienix T& P Co 85 

I'athHniler 86 

Pioneer Lost 88 

Kevoliitioiiary Relics 25 

Hailroads.Co\intv 4^1 

Iiielianls..n..llt " 44 

Hiehards.DrCW 55 

Russ.HB&AE.VHC 61 

Heilly.O.M 31 
River opposite Pho-nix 6 

Hum trallic, Oswego S'J 

Roosevelt Purchase 84 

Ruins, Pre-Ilistorlc 90 

Rural Cemetery 91 

Sparrow. WE 21 

Silk Mill 73 

Schrceppel Settlement. M 

—Org 13— Homestead 39 

Stori', 1st I'laenix 16 
School 86- Kaculty 81 — 
Board 81— diagram 82— 

—1st Schroeppel 51 

Scriba. Purcliase 21 

Supervisors 32 

Senators, Oswego 36 

Shentrs. Oswego 3(1 

Seamans.JT 59 

Smith, FL 64 



PHCENIX. 

Sweet, G M 40 — Rcminis- 

(ences 13 
Sunshine Society 39 

Sweet, Jeduthen 28 

Street views 3, 7, 10, II, 14, 

tl.5, 18, 19, 63, S3 
Settlers, Old 13. 27, 35- 

— Earliest 5 

SouthallievHS 17 

Ship canal 22 

Steamboats. Oneida Lake 86 
Snow Tunnel 86 

State officers. Salary 81 

Three Rivers 45— Fort 87 

-inl7»l 82 

Town Clerks 19-ollicers 15 

Hoard .54 

Tuld>s.C\V 63 

Training Field 19 

ToiiicClub 30 

Tavern, 1st iirPho'nix 33 
Trustees, Vijlage 2 

Treasurers, County 38 

Taxpayers, 1st Schrteiipel 92 
Towns of Oswego County 91 
I'nderground Sfatiem 18 

Wings Kes .IF 71 

Witliers,GC 71 

Wedding. 1st 79 

Water. Large Boilics 60 
What is it worth 48 

War Parties, Early 11 

W CT I' 22 

Wtuiians Mission Cong ch 19 
\\ H (• 9 

Williains,JM 38 

Williams.CK 22 

Woiuans Home Mission 37 
Walls Saw .Mill 25 

W F M, M E eh 51, sk 79 

Whist Club 30tli Cent 52— 

— Orig 46 

Y P S C E 39-Jr 44 

Young, DrDF 60 

Vmiiig People, Baji ch 18 
Yoiiiians,CaiitC 49 

Youngs ResHA 72 



THC 6CAMAN8 PRESS. PULASKI. N. 



